


Positive 
Protestantism 



A. AUGUSTUS HOBSON 




Class. 
Book_ 







Copyright^?- 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSE. 



{battiw fniftfiiattttfim 



positing 
Prototantism 



A Concise Statement of the Historical 
Origins, the Positive Affirmations, and 
the Present Position of Protestantism 

% A* Augustus Birfnum, |Jlj*l. 

Pastor, First Baptist Church 
Waltham, Mass. 



TEXT-BOOK EDITION 



Sty? (Srtifitfj mh Italanfc f xtm 

Philadelphia 
Boston Chicago St. Louis 

Los Angeles Toronto, Can. 



*\ 



sf 






Copyright 191 7 by 
GUY C. LAMSON, Secretary 



Published June, 1917 



JUN 30 1917 



~0126 



to 

Mi fatnttot Jfaquirmi 

After % ©rail? 



PREFACE 



This book grew out of a series of sermons on 
" Protestant Affirmations/' The writer had so 
many requests to suggest a book which would pre- 
sent the origin, principles, and prospects of Prot- 
estantism that he made a diligent search for such. 
Inability to find a book covering this entire field 
led to the determination to write one. There are 
many histories, many theologies, many controver- 
sial works, but so far as he could discover no posi- 
tive constructive statement treating all the field and 
showing Protestantism as it is to-day. It is the 
author's hope that this little book may fill the need. 
Many pastors may find it a useful book to have 
ready to give inquirers upon this subject. 

Much more could have been written upon the 
various matters treated. The purpose of the author 
to meet the need of the ordinary reader rather than 
of experts has guided in the selection of the material. 
Into the Appendix has been put a considerable 
amount of valuable evidential material to which 
many thoughtful readers will wish to refer, but 
which could not be included in the body of the book 
without too greatly retarding the movement of 
thought. The historical statement has been made 



viii Preface 

especially brief, since if longer statements are de- 
sired they are readily accessible. 

Credit should be given to most of the books cited 
in the Book-list, but the author desires to make 
special mention of his indebtedness in historical 
discussion to T. M. Lindsay and to H. C. Vedder. 
In the discussion of the doctrinal matters great 
indebtedness to C. A. Von Hase and F. H. Foster 
should be acknowledged. 

In this abbreviated edition the purpose to make a 
text-book for study classes dictated the condensa- 
tion of historical matter into a single introductory 
chapter to take the place of Part I in the complete 
edition, the omission entirely of the Appendix, and 
the subdivision of some of the chapters. Classes 
using the abbreviated edition will find the footnotes 
referring to additional material in the complete edi- 
tion very useful for supplementary study. 






CONTENTS 

Chapter p AGE 

I. Protestant Origins i 

PART I 

Protestant Affirmations of Christian 
Truth 

II. Agreements and Disagreements 13 

III. Salvation : By Faith or Law? 20 

IV. Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 37 
V. The Church and the Ministry 66 

VI. Religious Authority 83 

VII. Faith the Sufficient Means of 

Grace 107 

VIII. Romanist Deformities 114 

IX. Worship and Freedom 131 

PART II 
The Present Protestant Situation 

X. The Divisions of Protestantism .... 151 

XI. The Unity of Protestantism 184 

XII. The Prospects of Protestantism . . . 205 

Book-list for Reference and Study. 223 



CHAPTER I 

PROTESTANT ORIGINS 1 

The increase in the number and aggressiveness of 
Roman Catholics in this country has raised anew 
the question as to the differences of Romanism and 
Protestantism. This situation and the apparently 
growing consideration of a reunion of Christendom 
demand a clear understanding of the two branches 
of the church. This study will undertake to set 
forth constructively and positively the principles 
and prospects of Protestantism in contrast to 
Romanism. 

With astonishing rapidity the aim of Jesus' last 
command, which bade the disciples go everywhere 
with the gospel (Matt. 28 : igf.), was realized in 
many places throughout the Roman Empire. The 
apostles and their companions went from place to 
place, preaching Jesus the Messiah and laying em- 
phasis upon the spiritual and practical sides of re- 
ligious life. The simplicity of the early Christians 
is shown in their conception of the Christian cere- 
monies as symbols of the actual inner experiencing 
of the Spirit of God, and in the simple democratic 

1 For a fuller yet brief statement of the historical origin of Prot- 
estantism, see the larger edition of this book, Part I. 



Positive Protestantism 



church organization whose only ministry consisted 
of deacons and pastors, the latter of whom were 
called either " bishop " or " elder." 

But this simplicity was sooner or later lost under 
the influence of ideas which permeated the pagan, 
and even the Jewish, world. Everywhere saving 
efficacy was ascribed to religious ceremonies and 
special prerogatives and powers were thought to 
inhere in orders of priests. Under the influence of 
ritualism and priestism the ceremonies became in- 
dispensable channels of grace, and the ministry was 
made a sacerdotal order whose activity was neces- 
sary to administering grace. The office of " pres- 
byter " (elder) or "bishop" (pastor) became two 
distinct offices, of which the bishop was the superior. 
Gradually certain bishops came to be preeminent 
above others. Finally, after several centuries, the 
bishops of Rome and of Constantinople were the 
supreme officials to whom deference was given. By 
a long process of development, through a more or 
less natural growth from certain historical events, 
by the use of a number of documents forged for 
the purpose of giving a semblance of legality to 
the claim of the bishops of Rome to supremacy over 
the entire church and even over temporal powers, 
and by an appeal to the superstitious fears of the 
peoples of various nations the papacy raised itself 
to the place of supreme power in the western half 
of Christendom, though the Eastern Church never 
has completely recognized the authority of the pope. 



Protestant Origins 



During the centuries of this development only one 
ecclesiastical institution raised itself above the pa- 
pacy. This was the general council, which consisted 
of all the bishops of the church gathered to deter- 
mine disputed matters. But even the supreme au- 
thority of a general council over the pope came to 
be disputed before the Reformation. As the Refor- 
mation period approached the popes were already 
beginning to assert their superiority to general 
councils. 

Long before the actual Reformation certain forces 
had been making in that direction. In a number 
of nations a national consciousness had so far de- 
veloped that the papacy was confronted with new 
forces opposed to papal absolutism. The menace 
of the Turk, before whom Constantinople fell in 
1453, aided not a little in the political forces which 
were undermining the papacy. Besides, throughout 
the universities and, after the invention of printing, 
even among the masses there spread the results of 
the Renaissance, the awakening from the ideas and 
methods of thought of the Middle Ages to those 
of modern times. The new learning and its chief 
sponsors, the Humanists, greatly influenced the 
trend toward a reformation of the church and of the 
world. An additional current was the unrest of the 
people. A social ferment very similar to that of our 
own time characterized the period. The deeper 
current of the popular discontent, however, was 
religious, and this religious unrest had so far 



Positive Protestantism 



taken shape that there were actually non-conformist 
groups scattered here and there. Indeed, all classes 
were weary of the exactions of ecclesiastics and 
were disgusted and dismayed by the moral corrup- 
tions of the papacy and priesthood. The common 
opinion just before the Reformation was that the 
unreformed papacy was the running sore of Europe, 
and all contemporary writers execrated the eccle- 
siastical corruptions. It is but natural, therefore, 
that men's minds were expecting a change and were 
only waiting upon the leadership which would bring 
it about. 

This leadership was to be given by Martin 
Luther through the Lutheran movement. Luther 
was a monk professor who, by the most pains- 
taking endeavor, undertaken in the deepest religious 
spirit, had become convinced that salvation could 
be secured only through personal confidence in God 
and not through meeting the many ecclesiastical re- 
quirements. When Rome, greatly in need of funds, 
sent the priest Tetzel through Germany to sell in- 
dulgences, Luther, by posting his famous ninety- 
five theses on the church door at Wittenberg (Oct. 
31, 1 5 17), challenged both the practices and the 
teachings of the church. Rome resented his action 
and attempted to deal harshly with him, but he was 
protected by the Elector Frederick. Rome excom- 
municated Luther, but he burnt the bull of excom- 
munication publicly. When confronted with the 
power of the emperor, who was supporting the 



Protestant Origins 



papacy, he stood firm, and thus challenged for 
conscience' sake the two mightiest rulers in the 
world. Luther published many books and pam- 
phlets, and these were carried far and near and 
aroused the people of all lands, but especially of 
Germany. In them he gave forceful and clear ex- 
pression to what multitudes of men had more or 
less vaguely been feeling and thinking, and thus 
struck the spark which was to fire the world. A 
great struggle ensued in which various parts of 
Germany took sides. The emperor tried by many 
means to carry out the pope's desires and also to 
compromise the matter. War was the final resort, 
and ended in victory for the Protestants. The result 
was the peace of Augsburg, which established 
Lutheranism as a legal religion in Germany. 
Lutheranism also rooted itself in Denmark, Nor- 
way, and Sweden. Thus New Testament Christian- 
ity as Luther conceived it was established. 

Outside Germany in other countries the same 
forces which made the Lutheran movement possible 
worked themselves out in various forms, and came 
to be established in the Reformed Churches. In 
Switzerland the Humanist preacher Zwingli started 
the Protestant movement which led to the war in 
which he lost his life. John Calvin, next to Luther 
the greatest of the Reformers and the very greatest 
theologian of the Reformation, took up the Swiss 
leadership. He not only wrote the clearest state- 
ment of the theological position of Protestantism, 



Positive Protestantism 



but also made Geneva the educational center for 
the missioners of all the Reformed Churches and 
the asylum of persecuted Protestants who came 
from every part of Europe. Geneva was the great- 
est center and force for spreading and establishing 
the Protestantism of the Reformed Churches. 
From Geneva Calvin exercised a determining influ- 
ence in France, his native land, where Protestant- 
ism established itself, grew rapidly to numerical 
strength, was decimated by fierce and often repeated 
persecutions, and finally attained a legal status un- 
der Henry of Navarre by the Edict of Nantes in 
1598. In Holland also Calvin's influence was para- 
mount, for, in spite of the terrible persecutions of the 
infamous Duke of Alva, who turned the Netherlands 
into a sea of blood, Protestantism persisted, fought 
its way under William of Orange, and won the vic- 
tory under William's son, Maurice, in 1609. In 
Scotland the leader was John Knox, who was exiled 
for his Protestant views, and spent some of his 
exile with Calvin at Geneva, whence he was called 
to Scotland to aid the Protestants in gaining an 
establishment. Through an alliance with England 
Knox saved the Protestantism of all Europe, which 
was endangered by the menace of the French and 
Spanish empires. 

Calvinism spread also into some other countries. 
For a time it seemed about to conquer the entire 
English Church, but ended only in making the Puri- 
tan party, which was defeated in its effort to make 



Protestant Origins 



the whole church Calvinistic and was driven out 
to make independent churches or to emigrate to 
America. The Anglican Church remained in many 
respects medieval, but did not escape some influence 
from Calvinism. Calvinism was successful in get- 
ting a foothold in Germany, where some Reformed 
churches remain to this day. 

Calvinism is to be distinguished from Lutheran- 
ism in that while the latter emphasized first of all 
the value of faith, Calvinism stressed the doctrine 
of God's sovereignty; but the distinction is one of 
emphasis rather than of opposed beliefs. Calvinism 
also freed itself to greater extent than Lutheranism 
from the medieval type of Christianity, and so de- 
veloped a more democratic form of church govern- 
ment than Lutheranism did, and also arrived at a 
conception of the Lord's Supper farther removed 
from that of Romanism. 

Farther removed still from Romanism was the 
third stream of the Reformation. For a long time 
before the Reformation various groups had existed, 
espousing different views of gospel truth, and these 
gladly welcomed the Reformation movement and 
were in turn greatly increased in numbers through 
the influence of the entire development. Many dif- 
ferences of opinion obtained among these different 
groups which were scattered all over Europe. Yet 
certain principles were espoused by all and became 
the marks by which all Anabaptists may be distin- 
guished. They all believed so firmly that faith is 



8 Positive Protestantism 

the basis of salvation that they refused to baptize 
except on profession of faith and insisted on re- 
baptizing (hence their name) all who had been 
christened in infancy, and this is but an example 
of their characteristic opposition to all priestism and 
sacramentalism, as is also their insistence on demo- 
cratic church government. They insisted too on the 
authority of the Scripture as the last appeal. A 
third principle was that of religious liberty for all 
and the absolute separation of Church and State. 
Their fourth tenet, held quite generally, was non- 
resistance, with which was coupled refusal to serve 
as magistrates. For all of these principles they 
were bitterly hated by all governments and churches 
in Europe without exception and received from all 
the most terrible persecutions. Yet they spread 
and persisted, and have handed on their tre- 
mendous contributions through a number of modern 
denominations. 

The influence of the Reformation did not spend 
itself in the three streams of Protestantism. Men 
who remained loyal to Rome felt the need of re- 
form. Indeed, several attempts were made to re- 
form the whole church, so as to include the Protes- 
tants without a schism, and these movements had in 
a measure the approval and cooperation of one or 
two of the popes. These efforts are known as the 
Catholic Reformation. They failed, and the work 
of the Counter-Reformation, which was confined to 
the church remaining loyal to Rome, was taken up 



Protestant Origins 



by the Society of Jesuits, founded by Ignatius 
Loyola. This order was a matchless fighting ma- 
chine with a mystical enthusiasm, possessing a 
military spirit and law, and was governed auto- 
cratically by its head. It achieved remarkable suc- 
cess in conserving the interests of the Roman 
Church. It was very influential in the Council of 
Trent (1545-1563), which was called by Emperor 
Charles to settle the whole Protestant trouble, but 
ended in making Rome's position 'stronger, es- 
pecially by means of a clearer theological statement 
than Rome had before possessed. Both in the 
Catholic and in the Counter-Reformations the Inqui- 
sition, which was the punishment of spiritual of- 
fenses by physical pains and penalties and had been 
employed for a long time in Europe wherever State 
and Church acted jointly, was used with great sav- 
agery, especially in Spain and the Netherlands. 
Later, especially after the Council of Trent, the 
Index, a list of forbidden books, was used in order 
to keep Romanists ignorant of publications unwel- 
come to Rome. Previously the method was to burn 
all the copies of such books that could be obtained, 
but the invention of printing made this method in- 
effective. The Jesuits themselves helped to use 
these agencies of Romanist repression. To them 
must be credited the chief part in the reanimating 
of Rome, however much we may recognize that the 
society is to be condemned for some of its activities 
and tenets. 



io Positive Protestantism 

Quiz 

i. What was the emphasis of the early church? 
2. How was the early church organized? 3. What 
two pagan conceptions caused the departure from 
the simplicity of the early church ? 4. How did the 
pope come to supremacy? 5. What were the forces 
which prepared for the Reformation? 6. What was 
the significance of Lutheranism, of Calvinism, of 
the Anabaptists? 7. What was the chief influence 
in the Counter-Reformation? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. Did Luther, Calvin, and others start "new" 
religions, or did they continue Christianity in purer 
forms ? 2. The stream of the Reformation farthest 
removed from medieval Christianity and nearest 
to the modern spirit. 3. Failure of Rome to rule 
the entire Christian church at any period of history. 
4. The worth of the Jesuits, a blessing or a curse. 



Part T 

Protestant Affirmations of 
Christian truth 



CHAPTER II 

AGREEMENTS AND DISAGREEMENTS 

The term " Protestant " may be used with greater 
or less strictness. Strictly speaking the Protestants 
were those who had a share in presenting at the 
Diet of Speyer (1529) the Protest which gave rise 
to the name. But very quickly the word had a 
wider use as applying to all of the followers of 
Luther. It is employed to-day in this country to 
include all Christians not adherents of the Roman 
or Oriental Catholic Churches. Such a wide and 
loose use of the term makes it well-nigh impossible 
to present what Protestantism teaches. Some limi- 
tation is absolutely necessary. For the present pur- 
pose the term is meant to include all communions 
which naturally would be included on account of 
their historical origin and are generally regarded 
as constituting the evangelical denominations. 

A still further limitation is necessary. It would 
be possible to define Protestant teaching by an ap- 
peal to the historic written creeds of various Prot- 
estant bodies and to the writings of the leading 
Protestant theologians of the Reformation period, 
such as Luther, Melancthon, Zwingli, and Calvin, 
and to such later theological writers as Arminius, 

13 



14 Positive Protestantism 

Swedenborg, Jonathan Edwards, and others, who 
are responsible for new trends of theological think- 
ing. 1 But many things have transpired in the 
world since the older Protestanism was formulated. 
Xew modes of thought and new views of the world 
have come from a modern spirit and method of in- 
vestigation which are in part due to the Reforma- 
tion and in part to other causes. Moreover, great 
advance has been made in the sciences that concern 
the Bible, theology, and the history of the church. 
These facts and forces have had a deep and abiding 
influence on Protestant Christianity. Even a Ro- 
manist writing to-day cannot address himself 
merely to the older Protestantism, but has quite a 
different situation to confront him, both within his 
own communion with its ultramontane exaltation of 
papal authority and its antagonism to -Modernism, 
and also in the changed Protestant world. Conse- 
quently, any adequate presentation of Protestant 
teaching must take into account this new atmos- 
phere. 2 

A development within Protestantism itself has 
taken place, and has shown a tendency in the di- 
rection of the principles of the Anabaptists. It is 

1 Such is the method of the Romanist theologian Moehler. whose 
book " Symbolism " is by all means the best Romanist theological 
discussion of the differences between Protestantism and Rome. 
But the method re-veals its weakness in the fact that a great deal of 
Moehler'9 criticism is pointless against present-day Protestantism. 

2 The religious and theological literature of the last decade or two 
will furnish ample corroboration of the present statement as a fairly 
accurate account of present-day Protestant affirmations of Christian- 
teachings. 



^Agreements and Disagreements 15 

not difficult to mark the trend toward non-sacra- 
mentarian views of the ceremonies of the church, 
or toward the actual acceptance and even espousal 
of religious liberty, and the separation of Church 
and State. The pietistic features of the Anabaptists 
have also found advocates in later denominational 
developments. Likewise, the emphasis on a mem- 
bership determined by real and personal loyalty to 
Christ, rather than one determined by inclusion in 
the state or by infant baptism, has come to be the 
ideal of some denominations, which still practise in- 
fant baptism or whose European connections still 
adhere to state churches. The consequent situation 
in this country is a very different one from that in 
which the Lutheran and Reformed communions 
came into being and in which the Anabaptists were 
regarded and treated with the greatest hatred by 
all others. 

Between the modern spirit and Protestantism a 
certain affinity exists inasmuch as the modern world 
is in part a result of the Reformation. For exam- 
ple, the modern denial of the absoluteness of ec- 
clesiastical authority has left its marks even within 
Romanism itself through the European modernist 
movement. The exaltation of the individual and 
the validity of private judgment in so many of the 
other affairs of life could not fail to affect religion 
and benefit Protestantism. Confidence in the inher- 
ent worth of life and work, issuing in a transfer of 
emphasis from a future to the present world, would 



1 6 Positive Protestantism 

be expected to increase the importance of ethical 
considerations and thus open the door of opportu- 
nity to the growing tendency of Protestant teaching 
to appeal to the ethical sense of men. This relation 
of Protestantism and the modern spirit and point 
of view requires the Protestant affirmations to be 
stated, not as they might have been set forth in the 
days of the Reformation, but according to the pres- 
ent situation. 

Now the Protestant affirmations as such do not 
affect all Christian doctrines. As to many Chris- 
tian conceptions no wide difference exists between 
Romanism and Protestantism. Allowing for varie- 
ties of explanation, Protestantism may be said to 
accept those ideas which were affirmed by the first 
four general councils of the early church — ideas 
summarized perhaps in the Apostles', the Nicene, 
and the Athanasian creeds. Though Protestants do 
not recognize the infallible or other authority of 
councils to determine the teachings of the Scrip- 
ture, they can nevertheless hold to the essential re- 
ligious ideas of the historic creeds while insisting 
that their statements must be adjusted to the mod- 
ern w r orld and its modes of thought. 

Among the conceptions upon which agreement is 
to be had is one of particular importance for this 
discussion because it leads directly to the considera- 
tion of differences, namely, the conception that man 
is in deep need of God, and without him can- 
not possibly realize the fullest life here and here- 



Agreements and Disagreements 17 

after. Romanist and Protestant theologians have 
discussed with most minute theological refinements 
the theories underlying this statement of man's need 
for God and man's moral and religious impotence 
without God. But for the purposes of a practical 
understanding of the Christian gospel it is not 
necessary to enter into these discussions. Only the 
matters of main importance need be set forth. 
These concern the meeting of man's need by God. 

The fundamental differences are but two, pro- 
vided that the theological discussion of the relation 
of justification and sanctification is put aside. It is 
sufficient for practical religious purposes to state 
that the points of difference in that discussion have 
quite entirely to do with the theological definition 
of terms and the delimiting of psychological relig- 
ious processes. Since both Romanist and Prot- 
estant theologians hold that God's true children are 
both justified and sanctified by him, it is not of the 
greatest importance whether these terms refer to an 
identical process or whether justification is to be 
considered a separate act of God followed by the 
process of sanctification. The ethical side of the 
argument as presented by such a Romanist as 
Moehler 3 would be entirely in accord with modern 
Protestant views of justification. This fact would 
of itself be sufficient warrant for setting aside the 
discussion of the doctrine of justification. And 

3 See Moehler's " Symbolism " (translated by J. B. Robertson, 
London, 1906) in the discussion of Justification. 



Positive Protestantism 



again, since such an argument as Moehler's comes 
later to rest entirely upon the Romanist view of the 
sacraments as the source of the grace which justifies 
and sanctifies, all that is pertinent can be considered 
in connection with the discussion of one of the main 
differences between Protestantism and Romanism. 
One of the two remaining differences concerns 
the function and authority of the church. The other 
affects the conception of the method by which God's 
grace is brought to the saving of men. Even here 
the difference lies in the realm of the explanation 
of certain religious facts and phenomena which both 
Romanists and Protestants recognize; as, for ex- 
ample, the fact that Jesus Christ is Saviour and 
Lord through whom men come to God. The im- 
portance of the differences lies in the fact that these 
explanations are made regulative of religious life 
and so become the determining elements of religion. 
They must, therefore, be thoroughly understood. 
Historically Luther came first to the question of the 
method of salvation and only to the other question 
of the church and its authority after it had been 
inevitably raised by his earlier statements and activi- 
ties. Our course of thought will follow this order, 
but will subdivide the consideration of the church 
into three studies, and will approach the other ques- 
tion from two points of view, since the Protestant 
conception of the method of salvation contrasts with 
two distinct view-points held by Romanism. One 
of these is legalism, or the securing of salvation by 



Agreements and Disagreements 19 

conforming to the requirements of a definitely stated 
set of laws. The other is sacramentalism, or sal- 
vation mediated through a priestly order possessing 
special divine powers and by divinely appointed 
ceremonies which are the only vehicle of the grace 
of God that enables men to come unto him and to 
live a life of which he approves. Each of these 
contrasts will be discussed in successive chapters. 
Then will be presented in three chapters the Prot- 
estant conception of the church's function, religious 
authority, and the channel of grace, in contradis- 
tinction to the Romanist ideas. 

Inevitably Protestant principles lead to a con- 
demnation of certain elements of Romanism as use- 
less excrescences. They must also lead to evaluat- 
ing as valid certain conceptions and applications 
occasioned by Christianity's contact with civilization 
as a whole. These condemnations and evaluations 
will also be noted in two special chapters as negative 
and positive implications of Protestantism. 

4< q* *i* 
Quiz 

1. What does the term " Protestant" mean? 2. 
Who are Protestants? 3. What is the situation 
which makes a modern statement of Protestantism 
necessary? 4. How far do Protestantism and Ro- 
manism agree? 5. What are the three differences 
between Protestantism and Romanism? 6. Which 
two are of practical religious importance ? 



CHAPTER III 

salvation: by faith or law? 

One of the world-old religious questions is that 
which troubled Luther, " How can a man be 
saved ? " Christianity conceives that all men are 
sinful except so far as they are saved from that 
condition by God, who not only rescues men from 
the menacing results of their sins, but also saves 
them from the very grip of the tendency to sin, 
that is, makes them capable of resisting evil and 
accomplishing a Christian life. Men are saved to a 
life with God and to all that such a life involves, 
both here and hereafter. Nothing in Protestantism 
or Romanism disagrees essentially with these state- 
ments. The important difference arises as to the 
basis on which God is conceived as proceeding to 
save men and the means by which he cooperates 
with them in the achievement of a Christian life. 

Protestantism teaches that God is willing to for- 
give sin in view of men's faith and to treat all re- 
pentant men as a father treats a repentant child. 
Salvation is a two-sided process in which God acts 
with the really fundamental power and man acts 
out of the really necessary and potential motives. 
The essential attitude of men is their faith, that is, 
20 



Salvation: By Faith or Law? 21 

their devoted reliance on God's readiness to save. 
A man has only to recognize his sinfulness and need 
of God, to trust confidently in God and his power 
and willingness to save, to repudiate sin, and to 
choose God's standard of life. When such an atti- 
tude is taken through faith in Jesus the Christ, who 
revealed God and his gospel, then God is willing 
to disregard a man's lack of an actually complete 
righteous life and to cooperate through personal 
communion with the man in the achievement of sal- 
vation. In other words, a man comes into com- 
munion with God and continues in that relation 
through his devoted reliance on God. This sharing 
in God's life here gives assurance of life hereafter. 
This is plainly the conception which is presented 
in the New Testament, and directly to the New Tes- 
tament Protestantism sends every inquirer after the 
truth. In the parable of the Prodigal Son Jesus 
presents God's fatherly willingness to forgive sin- 
ners in contrast to the legalistic conceptions of the 
Pharisees, for the father in the parable, who is over- 
joyed to regain a lost son, is a figure of God. Most 
significant is the omission of reference to any other 
condition of accepting the son than that of the re- 
pentant, submissive, and trusting attitude displayed 
by the prodigal. Indeed, Jesus' constant use of the 
name " Father " for God is a supreme emphasis on 
this conception, which contrasted so strongly with 
the popularly current legalistic and ceremonial ideas 
of his time. To the plain teaching of this parable 



22 Positive Protestantism 

may be added the implication of Jesus' description 
of the last great judgment, in which he gives his 
only definition, intended as such, of the condition 
of entrance into the heavenly kingdom. In this 
description the sheep are separated from the goats 
not on a theological, ceremonial, or legalistic basis, 
but on the simple ground that the sheep by their 
daily life in its commonest affairs displayed an atti- 
tude toward the King which leads him to count 
them as his own. The central importance of the 
inner disposition to loyal service of the King is made 
still plainer in the Sermon on the Mount. Though 
denying any intention of destroying the law and 
asserting that he has come to fulfil the law's mean- 
ing, Jesus contrasts (Matt. 5) his understanding of 
the law with that of the scribes and Pharisees. He 
makes the point of the contrast turn precisely upon 
the idea that the inner motive is what determines 
in the sight of God the ultimate significance of any 
acts with which the law deals. The condition upon 
which God judges men favorably, then, is such an 
inward attitude as that of the returning prodigal or 
the giver of a cup of cold water. The case of the 
woman taken in adultery is also pertinent. Here 
is one actually caught in open violation of a law of 
first importance. Yet, because of the very attitude 
which the woman took in her shame, Jesus said: 
" Neither do I condemn thee ; go, and sin no more." 
Forgiveness was granted in view of her shown re- 
pentance and on condition that she go forth with 



Salvation: By Faith or Law? 23 

the purpose to live better. The inner attitude thus 
referred to is what Protestantism calls faith. 

Paul continued Jesus' teaching, and brings faith 
into even greater contrast with the law as a means 
of securing salvation. " Yet knowing that man is 
not justified by the works of the law, but through 
faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ 
Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, 
and not by works of the law; for by the works of 
the law shall no flesh be justified " (Gal. 2 : 16). 
This statement is perfectly plain, since Paul means 
by the word " justified " to indicate that state in 
which a man is declared or regarded as no longer 
under condemnation for his lack of actual right- 
eousness. The same teaching is plainly stated also 
in the following : " Now apart from the law, a 
righteousness of God (i. e., a way of righteousness 
approved by God) hath been manifested, being wit- 
nessed by the law and the prophets ; even the right- 
eousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto 
all them that believe; for there is no distinction; 
for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory 1 of 
God; being justified freely by his grace 2 through 
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus : whom God 
set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his 
blood, to show his righteousness because of the pass- 
ing over of sins done aforetime, in the forbearance 
of God; for the showing, I say, of his righteous- 

1 That is, of winning God's approval. 

2 That is, without cost to the man justified. 



24 Positive Protestantism 

ness at this present season: that he might himself 
be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in 
Jesus" (Rom. 3 : 21-26). Certainly nothing fur- 
ther need be quoted from the many passages in 
Paul's letters to show that he regarded faith in Jesus 
as the basis on which God is willing to deal with 
his sinful children. 

But this simple and plain teaching of the New 
Testament is not sufficient for Romanism. It 
holds that the first step of the estranged man in 
coming again into right relations with God is 
the formal intellectual acceptance of the church's 
dogmatic teachings ; then, that renewal of life comes 
through the application of the sacraments, especially 
baptism, which washes away the man's original sin ; 
and further, that the continuance in and fuller reali- 
zation of this life is possible only through the sacra- 
ments and the merit attained by meeting the re- 
quirements or laws of the church. The contrast of 
faith and sacraments as means of salvation is to be 
discussed in the next chapter, that of faith and law 
here. But it must be constantly remembered that, 
though for the sake of clarity we treat Romanist 
sacramental and legalistic ideas separately, they fre- 
quently merge in Romanist thought and are often 
connected with the same religious practices as, for 
example, the penalties in penance are both legalistic 
and sacramental. 

Rome insists that works are meritorious. Ac- 
cording to this conception certain deeds done be- 



Salvation: By Faith or Law? 25 

cause of the command or advice of the church have 
a value for salvation. Such deeds are prayers, fasts, 
gifts for church building and the like, on up to mo- 
nastic vows and practices. 3 These deeds do not de- 
pend for their value upon the inner Christian dis- 
position, but possess saving worth without it. By 
performing them one may secure a sort of bank 
credit of meritoriousness which may be cashed in 
actual saving merit from the infinite treasury laid 
up by Christ. The article " Merit " in the Catholic 
Encyclopedia says : " It is a defined article of the 
Catholic Faith that man in, before, and after justi- 
fication derives his whole capability of meriting and 
satisfying, as well as his actual merits and satisfac- 
tions, solely from the infinite treasure of merits 
which Christ gained for us on the cross/' This 
mechanical and, so to speak, commercial conception 
is carried so far that it is believed men may do 
more than is required of them and so gain a surplus 
of merits which may be transferred to some one else 
in more need of them, whether the person be living 
or in purgatory. Deeds securing this surplus are 
works of supererogation. With reference to these 

3 The ethical value of Moehler's argument concerning 1 the relation 
of good works to justification was possible for him chiefly because 
he distinctly set outside of his discussion all reference to " eccle- 
siastical ceremonies, external rites, and the like" (p. 157), and con- 
fined his consideration entirely to the good works required by Chris- 
tian ethical teachings. He does not in that argument address him- 
self to that phase of the question which Protestant discussions treat 
and which was the heart of Luther's controversy in this matter. It 
is against the saving efficacy of such meritorious works as those 
excluded by Moehler that the Protestant teaching is directed, and 
not against the ethical value and necessity of those acts included in 
a practical Christian life based on faith. 



26 Positive Protestantism 

the article just quoted says : " The possibility of this 
transferal rests on the fact that the residual punish- 
ments for sin are in the nature of a debt which may 
be legitimately paid to the creditor and thereby 
canceled, not only by the debtor himself, but also 
by a friend of the debtor." No legalistic concep- 
tion of the Pharisees was more mechanical than this 
teaching of Romanism, and none was quite so com- 
mercial and utterly lacking in ethical foundation. 4 

Protestantism urges against the Romanist legal- 
istic conception several convincing objections. In 
view of the New Testament, Protestantism regards it 
as self-evident that mere external, mechanical deeds, 
without the inner disposition to do them, can have 
no significance for religion and morals. Even if 
the Scripture is disregarded, it is equally self- 
evident to a heart and mind of real piety, -since 
morality is based in personal volition, that such a 
thing as buying indulgences cannot help in a moral 
matter, even when the buyer has given formal in- 
tellectual assent to the dogmas of the church. Prot- 
estantism is willing to rest its case with the appeal 
to the moral and religious sense of men who have 
read the New Testament with a desire to find God. 

The tendency of the practice of meritorious works 
to issue in superstition is so inherent that the Coun- 
cil of Trent, after admonishing all bishops to give 
instruction concerning the veneration and invoca- 

* See larger edition, Appendix, Note 2, for Romanist modifications 
of this idea. 






Salvation: By Faith or Law? 27 

tion of saints, the honor to be paid relics, and the 
use of images, found it necessary to warn against 
the connected abuses and used with reference to 
these things such terms as " superstition," " filthy 
lucre," " lasciviousness," " revelings and drunken- 
ness," and " luxury and wantonness." As Harnack, 
the great German historian, says : " Since the end 
of the second century there has always been a kind 
of side-religion, a subterranean religion of the sec- 
ond order, varying according to the differences of 
the peoples, but everywhere alike in its gross super- 
stitions, its naive docetism, its dualism and poly- 
theism. It is the worship of angels (demi- 
gods) and demons, the high valuation of pictures, 
relics, and amulets, a weaker or stronger enthusiasm 
for the severest asceticism (whence also dualistic 
conceptions), and the anxious observance of certain 
words, signs, rites, ceremonies, places, and times 
which are regarded as holy." History shows, and 
the Council of Trent implicitly admits, that the 
practice of meritorious works inevitably runs off 
into this side-religion. It is in part on this account 
that Protestantism rejects the whole conception of 
meritorious works. 

Supererogation, a development from the Roman- 
ist doctrine of good works, is especially offensive 
to the moral sense. Rome teaches that it is possible 
to do more than one's required duty to God and 
thus to win, especially through monastic vows, a 
surplus of merit which may be transferred to others. 



28 Positive Protestantism 

This teaching is supposed to be derived from the 
incident of Jesus and the rich young man. (Matt. 
19 : 16-23.) But Jesus merely presented here the 
ideal of positive achievement in contrast to mere 
negative conformity to the law, and tested the rela- 
tive devotion of the young man to his riches and 
to the work of cooperating in Jesus' itinerant evan- 
gelism in which the care of rich possessions would 
have been a positive hindrance to the young man's 
effectiveness. In this incident none but the pos- 
sessor of such a special interpreting power as Rome 
claims could ever find the doctrine of works of 
supererogation. Protestantism is willing to leave 
the interpretation to ordinary intelligence. But it 
urges in addition to this lack of real scriptural sup- 
port that a transfer of moral values is quite outside 
the realm of real morality, which is the sphere of 
personal volitions. Moral worth is not a commod- 
ity to be dispensed on the presentation of a due bill, 
so to speak, on behalf of some one else. Protestant- 
ism also maintains that one can never do more than 
his full duty to God. However nearly men ap- 
proach perfection, they have only drawn near to full 
realization of their own duty to God. How, then, 
can one do more than enough and merit surplus 
credit ? Consequently, Protestantism repudiates 
meritorious works because of this connected idea of 
supererogation. 5 

5 For the actual place of supererogatory ideas in the New Testa- 
ment time and later, see Smith, Burton and Smith, '" Biblical Ideas 
of Atonement," pp. 76-90. 



Salvation: By Faith or. Law? 29 

Even were supererogation valid, there is no intel- 
ligent basis for holding that monastic vows of pov- 
erty, celibacy, and obedience could accomplish a sur- 
plus of merit with God. Poverty in itself is no 
virtue, and in the better monastic ideal is simply 
a means to unhampered religious devotion. In view 
of the inevitable accumulation of riches on the part 
of the monasteries, monastic poverty seems a very 
strange realization of this ideal. Moreover, celibacy 
is certainly not a higher ideal for human beings 
than fatherhood and motherhood, unless the sex 
relation is inherently evil and the task of peopling 
the world unacceptable to God. Again, how is 
obedience to an ecclesiastical official an addition to 
the fulfilling of the whole duty to God? Even if 
such obedience is regarded as a divinely appointed 
duty, it cannot for that very reason be conceived 
as outside of the required duty to God. Accord- 
ingly, monastic vows offer no opportunity for extra 
credit with God, and this conclusion strengthens the 
Protestant contention. 

But the fundamental reason why Protestants re- 
ject the teaching concerning good works is that it 
is of a piece with the legalistic conception of the 
scribes and Pharisees which both Jesus and Paul 
attacked so vigorously. The Pharisees conceived 
that salvation was to be attained by understanding 
and applying the law — in their case the Old Testa- 
ment law — according to the authoritative interpre- 
tations and definitions of the fathers (noted rabbis). 



30 Positive Protestantism 

If one failed to secure sufficient credit by punctilious 
observance of the law thus interpreted, he could 
fall back on his Abrahamic descent for a privileged 
treatment by God. So Romanism conceives that a 
man must obey the requirements and the advice of 
the church in accordance with the authoritative tra- 
dition of the Church Fathers. If one lacks power 
to achieve sufficient merit, one falls back upon the 
sacramental grace dispensed by the church. 

The two systems have the same appeal to an ex- 
ternal authority and the same subtle hair-splitting 
refinements of definitions. These two features are 
both illustrated by the distinction made between 
venial sins, which are easily pardoned, and mortal 
sins, which are forgiven with greater difficulty. 
Another distinction is made in the terms " latria," 
worship of God, " dulia " (literally service), adora- 
tion of the saints, and " hyperdulia," superad- 
oration of Mary. Psychologically and practically 
such distinctions are impossible, and reflect only a 
difference in words, not in the actual attitudes of 
worship. According to Coppens, the first law of the 
church requires attendance at mass on Sunday. 
Application of this law necessitates defining what 
constitutes attendance, and so how late one may 
arrive at mass and still comply with the law. 
Coppens declares (p. 321) it to be a mortal sin " to 
miss the elevation, or communion, or to arrive after 
the offertory." Again, the Roman Missal refers to 
the " defects " occurring in the celebration of the 



Salvation: By Faith or Law? 31 

mass. A rule given there requires the swallowing 
of the wine even if a fly or spider has fallen into it, 
and another regulation makes it necessary for the 
priest, who may have vomited the bread and wine, to 
reswallow the same if the elements can be distin- 
guished in the vomit. All of this defining is in the 
spirit of the pharisaic rabbis. The two systems are 
also alike in the self-righteousness which they en- 
gender, for Romanists must believe that they are 
the privileged of God since salvation comes only 
through Rome. 

Jesus' condemnation of such legalism is particu- 
larly virile and incisive. In the Sermon on the 
Mount he contrasted his conception of the internal 
nature of righteousness with pharisaic conformity 
to the traditional oral law. Elsewhere, immediately 
after a condemnation of pharisaic interpretative ob- 
scuring of the law, Jesus said the Pharisees would 
compass sea and land to make one proselyte and 
then would make him twofold more a son of hell 
than they themselves were. (Matt. 23 : 15.) A still 
more scathing condemnation is given in the utter- 
ance : " Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 
crites ! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, 
and have left undone the weightier matters of the 
law, justice, mercy, and faith: but these ye ought 
to have done, and not to have left the other un- 
done" (Matt. 23 : 23). Recognizing the proper 
function of the law, Jesus put the heart of its ob- 
servance in the inner attitude of justice, mercy, and 



$2 Positive Protestantism 

faith. In the incident of the Pharisee and the publi- 
can there is also a specially apt condemnation of 
legalism and the self-righteousness which flows 
from it. (Luke 18 : 10-14. ) 6 Nothing is plainer in 
the New Testament than this condemnation by 
Jesus of pharisaic legalism which is so similar to 
that of Roman Catholicism. 

Paul extensively condemns legalism in his teach- 
ing that salvation comes apart from the law. 7 Two 
incidents from the New Testament give this teach- 
ing special significance for the present discussion. 
When certain self-appointed guardians of Jewish 
Christianity came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, 
where the church included a considerable number 
of Gentiles, they raised the question of the validity 
of a Jew's partaking of the Lord's Supper with an 
uncircumcised man. It was unlawful for a Jew to 
eat with such. Peter had been at Antioch, and had 
been following the custom of the church without 
hesitation. But now, for fear of the Judaizing 
brethren from Jerusalem, he cowardly refused to 
eat. But Paul at once opposed Peter to his face, 
as he tells us, and asserted that obedience to the 
law was not necessary as an addition to faith as a 
basis for coming into and maintaining right rela- 
tions with God. Later, at a friendly conference in 
Jerusalem, where James and Peter and Paul were 

6 Compare this with the following Romanist statement, " I chastise 
myself, but I count the strokes and am proud of their number " 
(Bishop Wittman, quoted by Von Hase, p. 33). 

7 See above, pp. 23f. 



Salvation: By Faith or Law? 33 

present, a compromise was agreed upon whereby 
Paul was to continue his evangelization among the 
Gentiles while the Jewish regions of the world were 
to be left to the evangelizing efforts of Peter and 
those others who more or less desired to perpetuate 
legalistic ideas and practices. The Judaistic Chris- 
tianity of these latter disappeared after a short 
period simply because it was so completely out of 
harmony with the essential teaching of Christ. 
Paul's gospel, agreeing with the teaching of Jesus, 
remained dominant (even Peter was afterward 
completely won to it) until a new legalism crept 
into the church through the doctrine of meritorious 
works. Accordingly, it is plain that Paul con- 
demned legalism, and that too in spite of Peter, by 
whom Rome sets so great store. 

This New Testament condemnation and the other 
objections urged above are conclusive for the re- 
jection of Romanist legalism. But Protestantism 
does not rest in mere rejection, for it proceeds to 
show the real relation of good works to faith. In 
order to estimate adequately this relation the nature 
of faith must be understood. A difference in the 
definition of faith is partly, though not entirely, re- 
sponsible for the differences between the Protestant 
and Romanist conceptions. According to Roman- 
ism, faith is the intellectual acceptance as true of 
what the church declares to be true. 8 Moehler 

8 For fuller statements of Romanists, see. larger edition, Appendix, 
Note 3. 



34 Positive Protestantism 

says that " recognition of the truths revealed in 
Christ ... is faith in the ordinary Catholic sense " 
(p- I 37)> The authoritative teaching of the Roman 
Church compels such a statement, though the more 
scriptural conception of faith was not without ex- 
pression in the medieval times. • 

Protestantism considers faith to be much more 
than an assent to dogmas. In the usage of the New 
Testament " faith " has an intellectual element, but 
the chief feature of it is volitional. Faith involves 
acting on the basis of what one believes to be true. 
It is the choice of God's way in view of the truths 
in which one can believe and on the basis of which 
he is willing to act, and this choice arises out of 
confidence in God and in the truth concerning him. 
This choice and confidence imply love to God and 
to his children, our fellow men (Gal. 5:6), and so 
a willingness to turn away from all that is opposed 
to God according to one's conscience. Faith is the 
attitude of the whole being toward God which, be- 
cause of confidence in God and in the revelation of 
him in Christ, makes men willing to live for him. 
A man may have such faith and thus be acceptable 
to God even though his intellectual conception may 
be only partially true or may differ from that of 
others who have faith. 

Of such faith good works, according to Prot- 
estantism, are both the expression and the test. 
As the life of the seed develops according to its 
kind, so unfolds the life of faith. Jesus' word is 



Salvation: By Faith or Law? 35 

that we know the tree by its fruits. Thus we know 
faith by its expression in good deeds, and when we 
have the right kind of faith we may be sure of a 
right kind of life. Good fruit does not make a tree 
good, but a good tree does make good fruit, and 
good fruit is always a sign of a good tree. Good 
works do not make a man good, but good deeds re- 
veal that a man has the good attitude of life, and a 
man with real faith will do good works as natu- 
rally as a good tree produces good fruit. " The 
good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth 
good things, for out of the abundance of the heart 
the mouth speaketh " (Matt. 12 : 34f., quoted here 
with a change of order). Such is the Protestant 
teaching over against the external, mechanical, and 
unethical conception of Romanism, that mere acts 
may have a merit aside from the moral disposition 
from which they arise. 

There are thus two main thoughts of Protestant- 
ism which are fundamental and which constitute its 
strength and treasure at this point. One is the con- 
viction that religion is essentially a stedfast temper 
of soul rooted in childlike trust in God. The other 
is the conviction that this childlike trust is insepa- 
rably bound up with the plain, simple principle that 
the moral life is the true and inevitable expression 
and test of the trust. These convictions Protestants 
base on Scripture and reason. 



36 Positive Protestantism 

Quiz 

1. What is the main teaching of Protestantism 
as to the basis of salvation? 2. What three im- 
portant passages show Jesus' teachings? 3. What 
was Paul's teaching? 4. What is the main Roman- 
ist teaching? 5. How does Romanism conceive the 
meritoriousness of works? 6. What is the objection 
by Protestantism on the basis of lack of Scripture 
and superstitious developments? 7. On the basis 
of unjustifiableness of supererogation? 8. On the 
basis of the similarity of Romanism to pharisaism? 
9. How did Jesus condemn legalism? 10. What 
was Paul's condemnation of legalism? 11. What 
is the Romanist conception of faith? 12. What is 
the Protestant conception of faith? 13. What is 
the Protestant estimate of good works ? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. The relation of Romanist " good works " and 
concrete moral living. 2. The relation of faith as 
Protestants conceive it and the necessity of learning 
in order to believe the truth. 3. What instances of 
Romanist legalistic practices have come under your 
personal observation? 



CHAPTER IV 

salvation: by faith or sacrament? 

The central doctrine of Protestantism, salvation by 
faith, comes into contrast with the sacramental as 
well as the legalistic element of Romanism. 

Even in the Old Testament the inwardness of 
the basis of the relation to God was set forth. The 
new covenant * forecasted by Jeremiah is not to be 
written on slabs of stone like the tablets of the 
Mosaic covenant. " I will put my law in their 
inward parts, and in their heart I will write it; 
and I will be their God, and they shall be my 
people" (Jer. 31 : 33). This inwardness of the 
law is pertinent in regard to the Protestant re- 
jection of legalism, but it has even more signifi- 
cance for the consideration of sacramentalism. It 
was simply one element in that general conception 
of the necessarily internal basis of the religious life 
which was characteristic of the prophets and led 
them to reject such ceremonialism as was externally 
conceived and practised in the Old Testament time. 
(Micah6 : 6-8.) 

Jesus himself condemned ceremonialism in his 

1 The use of the term " new covenant " by Jesus, and the apply- 
ing of it by him and all Christians to the New Testament gospel, is 
significant. 

37 



38 Positive Protestantism 

declaration that religious worth depended on in- 
ward condition and not on external conformity to 
required ceremonies. (Matt. 23 : 25; and cf. Luke 
11 : 37-41.) Paul very distinctly repudiated an 
outward ceremonialism. " For he is not a Jew who 
is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision which 
is outward in the flesh ; but he is a Jew who is one 
inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, 
in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not 
of men, but of God" (Rom. 2 : 28f.). This brief 
but plain statement may be corroborated by many 
other passages. Clearly the New Testament teach- 
ers, as well as the Old Testament prophets, rejected 
the idea of the saving efficacy of ceremonies. 2 

This scriptural repudiation of ceremonialism 
Protestantism applies to the Romanist conception of 
the nature and function of the sacraments, though 
it must be said that the degree of this application 
has differed in the hands of various Protestant com- 
munions according to the relative distance of their 
removal from the medieval ideas of Romanism. 
Essentially, however, in spite of the differences in 
denominational explanations of the use of the sac- 
raments, Protestantism, because of its central em- 
phasis upon faith and its inwardness, has been 
committed by logic, if not by creed and practice, to 
the purely spiritual conception of the Christian cere- 

2 For the protest against the supposition of intrinsic saving value 
in sacrifice as displayed in the non-canonical literature before and in 
the New Testament times, see Smith, Burton and Smith, " Biblical 
Ideas of Atonement," p. 75. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 3$ 

monies as distinct from a magical, external, and 
mechanical view. Gradually the more spiritual idea 
has been displacing the residue of medievalism, at 
least among the bulk of Protestants in this country. 

The Romanist doctrine as to the sacraments has 
two elements which the Protestant doctrine as to 
faith makes impossible to hold as valid. One ele- 
ment is the idea that the performance of a sacra- 
mental ceremony in and of itself conveys God's 
grace without reference to the inner attitude of the 
worshiper. The Roman Catechism defines sacra- 
ment as " the visible sign of an invisible grace, in- 
stituted for our justification. " But it is not a mere 
sign, for, according to the Council of Trent, " grace 
is given through the sacraments, so far as God's 
part is concerned, always and to all men," and " by 
the sacraments of the new law grace is conferred 
through the act itself." This is taught by Thomas 
Aquinas, the greatest of all the Romanist theolo- 
gians, and also by Duns Scotus, who said : " Grace 
is conferred from the very fact that the work, 
namely, the sacrament, is exhibited, unless the ob- 
stacle of mortal sin prevents ; so that besides the ex- 
hibition of the sign openly exhibited no good mo- 
tion of the heart is required in him who receives 
it." 3 Protestantism rejects this external, mechan- 
ical, and magical conception. 

The second objectionable feature of the Romanist 

8 Quoted by Von Hase and Foster. See further Cardinal (Jib 
bons, " Faith of Our Fathers," p. 304. 

D 



40 Positive Protestantism 

doctrine is the proposition that the efficacy of the 
sacraments depends upon the intention of the priest. 
According to this proposition a valid sacrament has 
been performed only if the priest meant the per- 
formance to convey grace. 4 Certainly the Scrip- 
tures give no hint of authority for the idea that any 
man can prevent those who seek God from really 
finding him or can by an unannounced purpose de- 
stroy the undoubted value of participating sincerely 
in the Christian ceremonies. Protestantism sees in 
the doctrine of intention only evidence of the me- 
chanical magic of the Romanist system. 

Protestant opposition to sacramentalism is really 
a positive affirmation of the place which faith has 
in religion. Protestantism as well as Romanism in- 
sists that spiritual help is to be secured by partici- 
pation in religious ceremonies. But Protestant 
teaching stands on the scriptural position that God's 
grace can be dispensed only to those who through 
faith are receptive toward his influences, and con- 
ceives that faith is the hand with which man re- 
ceives the blessing of God. Such a view makes 
plain that there can be no real and saving relation 
between God and man into which man does not 
voluntarily enter, and it commends itself at once to 
a reasonable and pious mind. 

One other feature of the general Protestant atti- 
tude toward the sacraments is its refusal to recog- 

4 See larger edition, Appendix, Note 4, for official Romanist state- 
ment of the doctrine of intention. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 41 

nize the number as seven. No number of divinely 
approved Christian ceremonies is mentioned in the 
Scripture. The number of sacraments named by 
Church Fathers has varied from two to twelve. 
Romanism has fixed arbitrarily on the number 
seven. Thus it has omitted some ceremonies, such 
as foot-washing, which has a far better scriptural 
claim to recognition than several of the Romanist 
sacraments, and is annually observed at Rome itself 
as a holy ceremony. Certainly there is no scriptural 
or other evidence of an institution of all these seven 
ceremonies by Jesus, and yet, according to Rome, 
a sacrament to be such must have been instituted by 
Christ. Only two, baptism and the Lord's Supper, 
were so instituted in any sense whatsoever. These 
are accepted as of primary and obligatory impor- 
tance by Protestants, and have been quite univer- 
sally adopted by all Christians of every age who 
have employed any recognized ceremonies. 5 Prot- 
estants employ other ceremonies, but these two are 
regarded as preeminent and obligatory because of 
their institution by Christ, because of their universal 
observance by Christians, and because of their in- 
herent significance. 

Though the number of ceremonies instituted and 
commanded by Christ is thus only two, it is neces- 
sary, for understanding the differences of Protes- 
tant and Romanist teaching, not only to present the 

6 For some evidential facts, see larger edition, Appendix. Note 5. 



42 Positive Protestantism 

Protestant view of these two, but also to consider 
the Protestant position with reference to the other 
ceremonies regarded by Rome as sacraments. 

The Roman Catechism says baptism is " the sac- 
rament of regeneration through water in the word." 
Cardinal Gibbons declares, 6 " Baptism washes away 
original sin and also actual sins from the adult who 
may have contracted them." Hence, baptism is 
necessary for salvation, although theoretically the 
purpose to be baptized is sufficient, provided reali- 
zation is hindered by some absolutely unavoidable 
obstacle. If the ceremony is performed with " in- 
tention " and according to the proper formula, its 
validity is not affected by the performer being a 
heretic, a woman, a Jew, or a Saracen, or by the 
goodness or the evil of the administrator, since 
grace is conveyed by the mere act. 7 

Protestantism affirms that faith secures forgive- 
ness of sins and that baptism is merely the outward 
sign of what faith accomplishes. It insists, there- 
fore, when true to its fundamental position, that 
baptism is not necessary to salvation, but should be 
observed because of Christ's command and because 
of the fitness of this ceremony as the symbol of 
that cleansing from sin and of that union with 
Christ which faith effects at the beginning of the 
Christian life. However, there is a difference of 

6 See "Faith of Our Fathers," p. 315. Compare also Coppens, 
pp. 2241. 

7 For Romanists' views as to the necessity of baptism, see larger 
edition, Appendix, Note 6. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 43 

conception and practice among Protestants as to the 
subjects and form of baptism. 

The relation of the fundamental Protestant prin- 
ciple to infant baptism is stated by the Lutheran 
scholar Von Hase when he says, " The piece of 
Catholicism in the heart of the Protestant Church 
is infant baptism, in accordance with its significance 
taken over direct from the Catholic Church, as ef- 
fecting ipso facto regeneration." 8 It is also recog- 
nized by the Romanist theologian, Moehler, who 
asks with reference to infant baptism, " If it is only 
by virtue of faith that sacrament acts, of what value 
can it be to an unconscious child ? " Some Prot- 
estant branches have not been able to relate their 
fundamental conception thus to infant baptism. 
Even some who see the relation justify the prac- 
tice, after repudiating the magical efficacy of bap- 
tism, by regarding it as a ceremony for parental 
consecration through Christian love of the lives of 
little ones to God's church. The analogy to cir- 
cumcision of the Old Testament dispensation is 
sometimes cited. But the magical conception more 
or less persistently connects itself with the practice. 

The Protestants who refuse 9 to baptize infants 
hold that there is no evidence that the New Testa- 



8 For a fuller quotation from Von Hase, see larger edition, Ap- 
pendix, Note 7. 

9 In view of the history of the opposition to infant baptism on one 
ground or another, which goes back certainly as far as Tertullian, 
the remark of Coppens (p. 224) that infant baptism was not assailed 
until the sixteenth century shows almost an incredible ignorance. 
See A. H. .Newman, "History of Anti-Pedobaptism." 



44 Positive Protestantism 

ment church knew anything of infant baptism, 10 but 
that, on the other hand, the only specific cases of 
baptism mentioned in the New Testament require 
the supposition that the baptized had personal faith. 
They also consider that the fundamental teaching 
of the New Testament as to faith, which Protestant- 
ism has made its primary teaching, renders absurd 
the practice of infant baptism, and that the more 
complete application of the Protestant principle by 
the rejection of it not only saves Protestantism 
from inconsistency, but also completely repudiates 
the magical conception underlying infant baptism 
which is so essentially characteristic of Romanism. 
This repudiation is the more significant since, ac- 
cording to these Antipedobaptists, the change from 
the New Testament conception and practice was due 
to the belief that baptism was necessary to salvation, 
and to the consequent desire of parents to make 
sure that their children would not be lost if they 
died before coming to an age when personal faith 
was possible. Thus the repudiation leads to the re- 
jection of the inhuman and unchristian idea that 
unbaptized children will be forever lost, and to the 
escape from the superstition connected with this 
idea. But this rejection is not meant to imply that 
dedication of children to God and Christianity is 
improper, but only a refusal to use for the purpose 
of ceremonial dedication the New Testament cere- 
mony of baptism which was instituted for quite 

10 Compare larger edition, Appendix, Note 7. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 45 

another function, namely, as the sign of the begin- 
ning, through faith, of the Christian life and en- 
trance into the Christian community. 

There is also a difference among Protestants as 
to the form of baptism. The majority use affusion 
or sprinkling, some permit immersion while prefer- 
ring sprinkling, and others insist that immersion is 
the only proper form. Those insisting on immersion 
hold that such was the form in the New Testa- 
ment time, and the tendency of modern scholar- 
ship of all denominations is to grant this conten- 
tion. 11 Emphasis is laid upon the many indications 
of the early practice of immersion, such as the ex- 
istence of ancient baptisteries ; upon the fact that the 
Eastern Church has never used any other form of 
baptism than immersion; and upon the further fact 
that the first conciliar decision raising affusion or 
sprinkling to a place of equality with immersion was 
a decree of the Council of Ravenna (1311), and this 
affected only a single province and not the whole 
Western Church. From such facts it is concluded 
that the original custom of the church was immer- 
sion. It is also believed that the change from im- 
mersion was occasioned by the fear that such per- 
sons as the sick, who were unable to be immersed, 
would be lost, since they must be baptized to be 
saved. Such clinic baptism gradually led, after a 

11 It is interesting to note the statement of the Jesuit Coppens 
(p. 223): "In fact, immersion was the most usual manner during the 
first fourteen centuries." Sec also article " Baptism" in the Inter- 
national Encyclopedia, and Henry S. Burrage, " The Act of Bap- 
tism." 



46 Positive Protestantism 

considerable time, through considerations of con- 
venience, to greater and greater prevalence of 
sprinkling or affusion. Consequently, insistence on 
immersion is a protest against the change and the 
magical sacramental view which led to the change. 
Finally, it is held that immersion alone fitly sym- 
bolizes that burial with Christ in baptism to which 
the New Testament refers. (Rom. 6:4.) When 
the force of these considerations is in any measure 
granted by those who employ affusion, it is insisted 
that in a matter of form the New Testament does 
not need to be followed ; but reply is made to this 
by the contention that it is important to take the 
New Testament as guide in every possible way and 
to emphasize by protest the fundamental Protestant 
conception of the efficacy of faith as against an ec- 
clesiastical ceremonialism. 

As in baptism, so in confirmation, the Romanist 
and Protestant conceptions disagree. Romanism re- 
gards confirmation as a sacrament which of itself 
conveys grace. The only use of it consonant with 
the Protestant principles is that which views the 
ceremony as the sign of the personal faith in Christ 
which the participator possesses. Not all Protes- 
tants use the ceremony, for those bodies which bap- 
tize only on profession of faith have no need of it. 
Confirmation arose only after infant baptism had 
become general. In the New Testament time bap- 
tism was the ceremony of professing faith in Christ 
and of entering the Christian community. Infant 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament ? 47 

baptism changed the significance of baptism, and 
left the church without a ceremony to mark per- 
sonal acceptance of Christ and entrance into the 
community of Christians. The need was filled by 
the creation of the rite of confirmation. 12 Those 
Protestant bodies which do not use confirmation 
and yet practise infant baptism, have their own 
varied but similar modes of receiving people into 
church-membership; and all these modes are only 
substitutes for baptism as employed in the New 
Testament time. 

According to Romanism, while baptism washes 
away sin, the grace of God conveyed by baptism is 
lost through every mortal sin and must be restored 
through the sacrament of penance. This consists 
in repentance leading to confession, or relating to 
a priest all one's mortal sins — venial sins may but 
do not have to be confessed — and receiving absolu- 
tion from the priest. He acts as a judge, and ab- 
solves with the expectation of the performance by 
the sinner of certain deeds, such as almsgiving, 
prayers, and fasts, which are known as " penances " 
or " satisfactions." The article on " Penance " in 
the Catholic Encyclopedia, says : " The absolution 
given by the priest . . . remits both the guilt and 
the eternal punishment of mortal sin. There re- 
mains, however, some indebtedness to Divine jus- 
tice which must be canceled here or hereafter." 

12 Thus the Episcopalian church historian Allen ("Christian Insti- 
tutions," pp. 404f.) says that confirmation now serves the purpose 
for which New Testament baptism was used. 



48 Positive Protestantism 

Thus God is conceived as only partially forgiving 
sin and as requiring still some payment to be met by 
temporal punishment 1S inflicted in " penances." If 
this payment is unmet at death, it must be suffered 
in purgatory. Indulgences may be issued, miti- 
gating or abolishing these " penances " or substitut- 
ing lighter penalties, and indulgences may even ap- 
ply to the temporal punishment to be met hereafter 
in purgatory. 

Scriptural ground for these elements of the sac- 
rament of penance is claimed by Romanism in the 
saying of Jesus : " Receive ye the Holy Spirit : 
whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto 
them; whose soever sins ye retain, they shall be 
retained " (John 20 : 22f.). But in these words or 
their context there is no institution of a sacrament, 
no reference to auricular confession, and no indi- 
cation of a judicial authority to inflict penalties. On 
the other hand, the right to declare sins forgiven 
on the basis of God's promises, which this pas- 
sage gives, is conferred by Jesus on the entire 
church (Matt. 16 : 19; 18 : 18), and consequently 
the right is not confined even to the apostles alone, 
much less to the Roman priesthood. 14 

13 It would seem from statements of Romanist teachers that " tem- 
poral punishment " is to be distinguished from " eternal punishment M 
in being temporary instead of everlasting; in being less grievous 
than " eternal punishment, " though the greater gravity is not de- 
fined, but is left to the imagination; and in covering only that in- 
debtedness to God remaining after eternal guilt and punishment have 
been wiped out by sacramental grace. 

14 For the use of the word " penance " in the Douai English Ver- 
sion of the Bible, which is the approved Catholic version for use in 
this country, see larger edition, Appendix, Note 8. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 49 

Protestantism advocates the New Testament con- 
ception of and insistence on repentance. 15 Repent- 
ance is a prerequisite to the forgiveness of sins. It 
is a part of the right inner attitude toward God, in 
view of which God is willing to deal with men. It 
is that part which includes sorrow for and detesta- 
tion of sins and such a change of mind toward sin 
as amounts to a turning away from it. When to 
repentance is added the abiding confidence in God 
and his revelation as a Father which faith requires, 
then men secure forgiveness and the assurance of 
such without further ado. Such is the abundantly 
expressed teaching of the New Testament. 

Protestants believe in confessing sins primarily 
and directly to God. They appreciate and accept 
also the Scripture injunction, " Confess therefore 
your sins to one another, and pray for one another, 
that ye may be healed." But Protestants object to 
the compulsion of Romanist confession, for there 
is no warrant for it in Scripture and no support in 
church tradition for a thousand years. Confession 
to God is necessary for one who chooses to serve 
God and seeks forgiveness, but confession to a 
Christian minister is optional. Protestant ministers 
often receive voluntary confessions and give spirit- 
ual advice relative thereto. But, as Von Hase says, 
" Out of the good deed of taking counsel for the 
conscience with an experienced man in whom one 

15 The Greek words translated "repentance'* and "repent" have 
as their literal and essential meaning " a change of mind. ' See also 
larger edition, Appendix, Note 8. 



50 Positive Protestantism 

can confide, according as an individual's circum- 
stances have brought about the need of this, there 
has come to exist in the Roman Church a compul- 
sion and a snare which oppresses the conscience, 
chokes the moral sensibilities, and denies Christian 
liberty." 

The possibility of securing forgiveness by con- 
fessing sins directly to God was clearly implied by 
Jesus when he taught us to pray, " Forgive us our 
debts, as we forgive our debtors." He gave no 
slightest indication that this simple petition would 
not be answered until the petitioner had confessed 
to a priest. Indeed, Romanism itself inconsistently 
admits the possibility of securing forgiveness with- 
out confession when it teaches that if, after con- 
scientious self-examination, the confessor has for- 
gotten some of his mortal sins, these are forgiven 
along with those actually confessed. If God will 
forgive some without confession, why not all? 
Protestantism therefore affirms that any follower 
of Christ can pray directly to God, confessing his 
sin, and receive forgiveness through his repentance 
and faith. 

Protestants may admit the salutary effect of con- 
fession in inspiring fear of wrong-doing, but the 
incidental benefits are outweighed by the evils con- 
nected with it. The arbitrary distinction between 
mortal and venial sins, the latter of which do not 
have to be confessed, can have only a demoralizing 
effect. The power which knowledge gained in the 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament ? 51 

confessional gives the priesthood is a bulwark of 
ecclesiasticism, which is fraught with danger and 
has been misused in the past. In the confessional 
questions too there is positive evil. If these ques- 
tions do not actually incite to certain kinds of sin, 
especially in the case of women who learn from 
them for the first time concerning some immoral 
practices, they at least create a suggestive atmos- 
phere most unhealthful for good morals. The un- 
pleasant situation is plainly revealed in Romanist 
books of instructions to priests for hearing con- 
fessions. Because of such connected evils Protes- 
tantism condemns compulsory auricular confession. 
Moreover, God either forgives sin or he requires 
satisfaction for it. He cannot do both, nor partly 
one and partly the other on any ethical basis. Paul 
declared, " There is, therefore, no condemnation 
to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1), 
and that what the law, ceremonial or other, could 
not do, faith in Christ by itself accomplishes, full 
acquittal from sin and a start on the right road. 
(Cf. Rom. 8 : 1 with Rom. 3 : 21-30.) Thus God 
really forgives sins freely without any payment of 
any kind. Moreover, there is no moral connection 
between the sins confessed and the penalties pre- 
scribed. What has the saying of a certain number 
of prayers, the fasting from certain foods, or the 
giving of alms to do with the forgiveness of sin? 
These acts may have value, but as ethical grounds 
for forgiveness they are beyond ethical comprehen- 



52 Positive Protestantism 

sion. Or, of what moral value are penances that 
may be performed by substitutes? The answer is 
plain. But the case is still worse. Prayer, the high 
privilege of personal communion with God the 
Father, is, when inflicted as a penance, lowered to 
a punishment for sin ; fasting, whose spiritual bene- 
fit as a teacher of self-control depends upon volun- 
tary exercise, is made a punishment for sin and an 
externally efficacious act; and almsgiving, which 
should spring only from Christian unselfishness, be- 
comes in effect a means of buying with filthy lucre 
the assurance of God's favor. Surely Jesus, in the 
Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6), clearly enough 
condemned these very practices when merely ex- 
ternal, and laid the emphasis on the praying and 
fasting and almsgiving which are in secret and come 
from the innermost motives of the heart. He even 
condemned as heathenish that much repeating of 
prayers to which penances have since led. Indeed 
this entire conception of penalties is utterly foreign 
to the simplicity and piety of the New Testament. 16 
But the crown of the sacramental systern is not 
penance, but the eucharist and the mass. Romanism 
holds that by the words of consecration spoken by 
the priest the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper 
are changed into the actual body and blood of Christ 

16 Indulgences constitute another element of the Romanist system 
of penance, but owing to the relative cessation of the promulgation 
of general indulgences since the time of the Reformation and the 
consequently comparatively smaller part they now play in Romanism, 
this matter will be reserved for a later chapter as will also the con- 
sideration of the connected thought of purgatory. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament ? 53 

and each is both the body and the blood. " The 
Catholic doctrine is thus stated in the creed of 
Pius IV : ' I profess that there is offered to God 
a true and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and 
the dead; and that in the most Holy sacrament of 
the Eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially 
the Body and the Blood, together with the Soul and 
Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that there 
takes place a conversion of the whole substance of 
the bread into the Body and of the whole substance 
of the wine into the Blood; which conversion the 
Catholic Church calls transubstantiation. I also 
confess that under either kind alone Christ is re- 
ceived whole and entire and a true Sacrament/ " 1T 
Cardinal Gibbons says: " The sacrifice of the Mass 
is the consecration of the bread and the wine into 
the body and blood and the oblation of this body 
and blood to God by the ministry of the priest, for 
a perpetual memorial of the Christ's sacrifice on the 
cross. The sacrifice of the Mass is identical with 
that of the cross, both having the same victim and 
High Priest — Jesus Christ." Accordingly this cere- 
mony is on the one hand the eucharist, participation 
in which brings sacramental grace, and on the other 
it is a repetition of the sacrifice of Jesus as an offer- 
ing in behalf of those who worship. 

The doctrine of transubstantiation is rejected by 
Protestantism on several grounds. Romanism has 
no warrant for insisting that Jesus' words, " This 

17 Quoted, except last sentence, in Coppens, p. 321. 



54 Positive Protestantism 

is my body," are to be taken literally. Jesus said 
also, "I am the door" (John 10 : 7), but no one 
thinks of understanding this as a literal statement. 
Why should we not consider Jesus' language as 
figurative in the passage cited for this doctrine, 
when it is perfectly plain that the bread is not the 
body and can be conceived of in this language only 
if it be taken figuratively? Even according to Ro- 
manism the " is " is not to be taken to mean iden- 
tity; for the substance of bread and wine is done 
away entirely and a new substance is created by a 
miracle ; so that the meaning of " is " according 
to this view turns out to be something more than 
literal, and the word really signifies " changed into." 
There is no warrant for such a meaning of " is." 
There is consequently no scriptural support for the 
doctrine, and in addition history proves it to have 
been a development from small beginnings in the 
early Christian centuries through various stages of 
growth until it was finally adopted by the ecclesi- 
astical authority of the Lateran Council (1215). 
Such poor authority will not with Protestants make 
up for the lack of Scripture. 

The repudiation of transubstantiation rests also 
on the incredibility of the supposed miracle of turn- 
ing bread and wine, each and both, into the actual 
body and blood of Jesus with muscles, bones, nerves, 
and whatsoever appertains to a true body, and also 
at the same time into Christ's whole soul and di- 
vinity. By every standard of judgment which in- 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 55 

telligence can apply the elements remain precisely 
what they were, as a chemical analysis would re- 
veal, and when eaten and drunk they undoubtedly 
take the same course of digestion as any other food. 
Moreover, how is the whole physical body of Christ 
to be conceived as present at once in the eucharistic 
elements of many widely separated churches, wholly 
in each place, and at the same time wholly at the 
right hand of God? One cannot accept transub- 
stantiation unless he sets aside all scientific and rea- 
sonable methods of thought. 

There is too an objection to this Romanist 
teaching from the point of view of the religious ef- 
fect of it. To a piety that springs from the depths 
of a heart sensitive with reverence for God, it is 
repulsive to think of eating one's God, and that is 
what the Romanist teaching involves. It is the ac- 
tual physical body and blood and also the whole 
soul and divinity of Christ that one eats in partaking 
of either the bread or the wine. The Arabian phi- 
losopher Averroes could say with justification so far 
as Romanism and medievalism are concerned, " The 
Christians adore what they eat," and he might have 
said, " They eat what they adore." To be sure, the 
piety of Romanists is not at all shocked by this con- 
ception, probably because they do not stop to think 
of what is involved. But to a thoughtful piety it is 
repelling. For how can spiritual blessing be con- 
ceived to depend upon the manducation of the phys- 
ical body and blood of Christ? 
E 



56 Positive Protestantism 

Agreed unanimously as to the rejection of tran- 
substantiation, Protestants have had several differ- 
ent interpretations of the significance of the Lord's 
Supper. The Lutheran view, least far removed from 
the Roman Catholic, held that the body and blood 
were present in the elements since God is Christ, 
and therefore Christ, like God, is everywhere. This 
view can be true only if the physical body of Christ 
is ubiquitous; this conception is almost as difficult 
as transubstantiation. Calvin held that since the 
presence of a thing was indicated by the presence 
of its power, Christ's presence in the elements was 
certain, since his power influenced partakers of the 
supper. The Anglican, or Episcopalian, view holds 
that there is a real presence in the elements, much 
in the same sense as the burning bush was a mani- 
festation to Moses of the real presence of God. 
None of these views claims to be specifically taught 
in the Scriptures, but only to be interpretation of 
Scripture statements. Each of them insists that 
Christ is present in the bread and wine. 

An additional view, however, which best accords 
with the whole teaching of the New Testament, 
which is most harmonious with the fundamental 
Protestant position, and which best meets the de- 
mand of a reasonable conception of the spiritual 
life, is that the bread and wine represent as symbols 
the body and blood of Christ. According to this 
view Christ's presence is of the kind he promised 
when he said : " Where two or three are gathered 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament ? 57 

together in my name, there am I in the midst of 
them " (Matt. 18 : 20). He is in the hearts of the 
worshipers spiritually, and the only function which 
the elements perform is their suggestiveness as 
symbols, calling to mind the Lord's passion, and as 
necessary parts of an impressive ceremony, the 
psychological accompaniments of which are spirit- 
ually helpful because God through Christ is in the 
heart to bless it. 

On the basis of this last view the religious signifi- 
cance of the Lord's Supper may be made plain. 
Any one may secure through participation in this 
ceremony the greatest spiritual blessing, provided 
only he has faith and takes the proper attitude in 
the observance. The piety and experience of the 
Christian centuries, taken in addition to the teach- 
ings of the New Testament, are sufficient evidence 
of this. But there are different ways of explaining 
how the blessing comes. The Romanist says that 
it comes in virtue of the miracle of changing the 
bread and wine into the actual body and blood and 
soul and divinity of Christ. Protestantism says, and 
most consistently in the view last stated above, that 
the blessing comes from the presence of God in the 
worshiper's heart, that is, through the miracle of 
inner spiritual communion with God. The bread 
and wine as symbols suggest the body and blood 
of Christ, and thus through this suggestion lead to 
that attitude of receptive faith and pious meditation 
which are the means through which God cooperates 



5& Positive Protestantism 

with the human spirit. Participation in the com- 
mon meal adds the sense of Christian fellowship. 

Romanism prolongs the Lord's Supper by adding 
to the eucharist, or sacrament of sharing the bread 
and wine, the mass. Following the Old Testament 
conception of the priest, and conceiving that the 
priestly office must include the sacrificial function, 
Romanism holds that its priesthood fulfils this func- 
tion by performing sacrifice in the mass. 18 This 
sacrifice of Christ is an offering to God on behalf of 
all present. The mass not only memorializes or calls 
to mind the sacrifice of Christ, but repeats it. It 
logically follows that the priest must be conceived 
as again putting our Lord to death as he was once 
crucified on behalf of the world. Moreover, in the 
popular mind at least, and in the idea of masses for 
the dead, the Romanist notion of sacrifice in the 
mass runs into that of pagan propitiation ; for par- 
ticipation in the ceremony through inner attitude on 
the part of those sharing the benefits of the sacrifice 
is no longer thought of as necessary, and is impos- 
sible in the case of the dead. Protestantism repudi- 
ates all such ideas as external, unreasonable, and 
even as unchristian and pagan. 

Protestantism urges against the conception of the 
mass the utter absence of any reference to it in the 
New Testament. Certainly at the institution of the 

18 Since comparatively few persons partake of the bread, the only 
element allowed the laity, the regular church service of the Roman- 
ist churches has come to be almost entirely this prolonged mass or 
sacrifice. Mere presence at the elevation of the host secures divine 
grace. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 59 

Lord's Supper there was no idea of repeating the 
sacrifice of Christ. The teaching of the New Tes- 
tament implies precisely the contrary of the Ro- 
manist notion, for it states that Christ made a sac- 
rifice once for all and that his death did away with 
the need of sacrifices. (For example, Heb. 9 : 12, 
25, 26, 28; 10 : 10, 12, 14, 18.) This is a precise 
denial that Christ's sacrifice has to be repeated. As 
if the value of Jesus' sacrifice could be increased by 
a mere priest of any religious body ! The only sac- 
rifices expected of Christians are those of the spir- 
itual inner life and what may be thereby practically 
involved. (Ps. 51 : 17.) The necessary sacrificial 
spirit is indeed helped by participation in the Lord's 
Supper, for the memory of the sacrifice of Christ 
is sanctified to the strengthening of the worshiper's 
sacrificial spirit by the Spirit of God in his heart. 

The final feature of the Romanist eucharist need- 
ing notice is the withholding of the cup from the 
laity. No Scripture warrant for this is claimed, and 
it is not held that this has been the custom of the 
church in all times. It is frankly admitted that both 
the bread and wine were given to the laity in the 
early church. The first thousand years of the 
church knew little of any other custom. At least 
four popes favored or commanded the administer- 
ing in both kinds, and the decrees of councils have 
vacillated from one position to the other. 19 This 

19 For some historical evidence, see larger edition, Appendix, Note o. 



60 Positive Protestantism 

wavering is excused by the Romanists on the plea 
that the church need not give reasons for its de- 
crees — a strange contention of believers in an in- 
fallible and unchangeable teaching office. Some 
very trivial arguments in support of the custom are 
sometimes put forth, such as that the laity are likely 
to spill the sacred wine. But the essential reason 
for maintaining the administering in one kind to the 
laity is the glorification of the priesthood as alone 
fully entitled to a place at the Lord's Supper. Prot- 
estants without exception maintain the custom of 
the New Testament church. 

The special privilege of the cup is in keeping with 
the priestly prerogatives which arise out of the sac- 
rament of order or ordination. Through the divine 
grace imparted by this sacrament, according to Ro- 
manism, is bestowed the power of order, that is, of 
preaching the word, of administering the sacra- 
ments, and of jurisdiction, by which is meant au- 
thority in the church and particularly in the con- 
fessional. This power is exclusively the prerogative 
of the ordained. 

Protestants have ceremonies of ordination, but, 
except in the case of those who, like the Episco- 
palians, believe in apostolic succession, they do not 
conceive that these ceremonies convey any special 
grace to the minister or make him a different kind 
or grade of being. These ceremonies are but the 
formal way of recognizing the call and the fitness 
of individuals to the special work of the min- 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament ? 61 

istry, whose functions are reserved for the ordained, 
not on the ground that a sacerdotal order is neces- 
sary for mediation between God and men, but 
merely for the sake of orderliness in the arrange- 
ments of the church and for the sake of efficiency 
in its work. Protestants do not conceive that any 
special powers inhere in the ministry. The only 
ground for accepting the Romanist doctrine as to 
" order " is the tradition of the hierarchy. 

Romanism regards marriage also as a sacrament, 
though it was certainly not instituted by Christ as 
the Romanist definition of sacrament would require. 
Scriptural warrant is found in Paul's statement, 
" Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the 
church, and delivered himself up for it. . . This is 
a great sacrament, but I speak in Christ and in the 
church" (Eph. 5 : 25, 32, Douai English Version). 
But this translation is false, for the word expressed 
in Latin as " sacrament " means in Greek " mys- 
tery." Besides, as appears from the verses between 
the two quoted, the mystery is not that of marriage 
but of the relation of Christ and the church. Paul 
definitely states, " This mystery is great, but I speak 
in regard of Christ and of the church" (English 
Revised Version). The Latin Vulgate, except for 
the one word which means sacrament, is capable of 
being rendered in precisely this language. Cajetan, 
the brilliant opponent of Luther, admitted that this 
passage could not be used for teaching that mar- 
riage is a sacrament. 






62 Positive Protestantism 

Romanist theologians are far from clearness or 
agreement either as to the " form " or " matter " of 
this supposed sacrament. 20 The " form " is either 
the benediction of the priest or the acceptance of 
each other by the contracting parties. The signifi- 
cance of this for practical purposes is shown in the 
fact that if the " form " is the benediction of the 
priest, there are no real Christian marriages except 
those performed by Romanist priests. The declara- 
tions of different popes may be appealed to for both 
views of the " form." Yet most recently the encyc- 
lical letters (the most weighty authority in the 
church) of Pius X, widely published in this country 
a few years ago, decided for the priestly benedic- 
tion, and consequently the infallible pope has settled 
it that no one is living in real Christian marriage 
relations except those married by Romanist priests. 
Certainly some priests tell the plain people that they 
are living illicitly if married by another than a Ro- 
manist priest, and attempts have been made to break 
up families on this basis. Such declarations, 
whether cathedratic and infallible or not, have no 
legal standing or effect in such a country as ours, 
but they serve to show the actual position and spirit 
of the Romanist hierarchy. Their very statement 
has, to the knowledge of the present writer, driven 
people out of the Roman Church, and the conten- 

20 In Romanism " form " is the technical term for the effective 
formula of a sacrament, and " matter "is the term for the necessary 
material used, such as water in baptism, bread and wine in the 
eucharist. 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament? 63 

tion itself obviously does not require refuta- 
tion. 21 

Protestantism finds no reason to regard marriage 
as a sacrament, especially as Protestants repudiate 
sacramentalism. It does conceive marriage as di- 
vinely appointed and approved as a social insti- 
tution. 22 

The final sacrament of the Roman Church is also 
the final one for life, extreme unction. Scriptural 
warrant is claimed in the passages which refer to 
the common practice in ancient times of dealing 
with sickness by anointing with oil under religious 
influences. (James 5 : i^i. ; Mark 6 : 13; 16 : 18.) 
But this custom looked to the recovery of the sick 
and not to preparation for dying, and the scriptural 
injunction is to the lay brethren, not to a special 
priesthood. There is no great antiquity for the 
practice of extreme unction as a sacrament. The 
name itself did not come into use until the eighth 
century, and then only to indicate a remedy for the 
sick. Romanism holds that this sacrament conveys 

21 Marriages between Protestants and Romanists are an almost 
inevitable source of family difficulty. Even where it has been agreed 
beforehand that the Protestant party shall have some freedom per- 
sonally and some control over the religious training of the children, 
the agreement is often not lived up to. Even when the Catholic 
party is willing to abide by his or her agreement, his or her Roman- 
ist relatives are free to exercise the Romanist duty to bring all into 
the one true church. Certainly when people of such different re- 
ligious affiliations and principles as Protestants and Romanists marry, 
they take into their hand their happiness and the effectiveness of 
home-making. If Romanists could agree to disagree it might be 
different, but the position of their church forbids this. Thus re- 
ligion, which should strengthen and sweeten the home, becomes a 
spring of discord. 

22 For a comparison of Romanist and Protestant positions as to 
divorce, see larger edition, Appendix, Note 10. 



64 Positive Protestantism 

the divine grace necessary to remove the guilt of 
transgressions which may remain to be expiated at 
the time of death. Protestantism rejects the sacra- 
ment and the practice of anything like it as a re- 
ligious ceremony. 

Finally, it is to be reiterated that Protestant 
views as to the ceremonies of the church are con- 
trolled by the fundamental emphasis upon the value 
of faith. The worth of the rites of the church de- 
pends upon the faith of the participant, and upon 
the ceremonies themselves only in so far as they are 
the appropriate expression of an inner experience 
and suggestive of those considerations which help 
faith. God is in the hearts of the worshipers, and 
blesses them through faith. 

4*4* HE* 

Quiz 

1. How do the Old and New Testaments con- 
demn ceremonialism? 2. What is the Protestant 
use of this scriptural condemnation? 3. What two 
main ideas of Romanist sacramentalism does Prot- 
estantism reject? 4. What is the Protestant affir- 
mation here? 5. What is the number of the sacra- 
ments? 6. What are the Romanist and Protestant 
views as to baptism ? 7. How do some Protestants 
differ as to the form and subjects of baptism? 
8. What are the grounds of objection to infant 
baptism? 9. For the insistence on immersion? 
10. What is confirmation? 11. What is the sacra- 



Salvation: By Faith or Sacrament ? 65 

ment of penance? 12. What is the Protestant 
view of repentance? 13. What is the positive 
Protestant view of confession, and what are the 
objections to the Romanist confessional? 14. What 
is the Romanist conception of the eucharist? 15. 
What are the grounds of Protestant rejection of 
transubstantiation ? 16. What are the several Prot- 
estant conceptions of the Lord's Supper? 17. 
Which agrees best with the fundamental Protestant 
position? 18. What is the Romanist mass? 19. 
What are the Protestant grounds of rejection? 20. 
Why do Romanists withhold from the laity the com- 
munal cup? 21. What are the Protestant and Ro- 
manist views of ordination? 22. What is the posi- 
tion of Protestantism as to marriage in contrast to 
Romanism ? 23. What is extreme unction, and why 
does Protestantism reject it? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. How does the fundamental Protestant princi- 
ple relate to the ceremonies of your church? 2. How 
must yon secure religious benefit from Christian 
ceremonies? 3. The relation of the Protestant con- 
ception of the ceremonies to the necessity of church- 
membership and church attendance. 4. The prac- 
tical effect of the Romanist theory of marriage upon 
mixed marriages of Protestants and Romanists. 
5. The effect of Romanist exclusiveness on the 
happiness of married life. 



CHAPTER V 

THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY 

More fundamental even than the conceptions dis- 
cussed in the preceding chapters is the contrast be- 
tween Protestant and Romanist teaching concern- 
ing the function of the church and the authority of 
the same in all religious matters. Ultimately the 
decisions of Romanists concerning the ideas already 
discussed rest upon their position in regard to 
the church and its authority. For Protestants like- 
wise, the question of the source of authority for 
religious thought and practice is of primary im- 
portance. In this connection there are four main 
subjects for consideration: (i) The nature and 
function of the church; (2) the ministry of the 
church; (3) the authority of the pope in contrast 
to private judgment; and (4) the question of 
whether Romanism is the sole channel of grace or 
whether religious life and certainty concerning it 
can be had on the Protestant basis. The first two 
of these are the subject of this chapter. 

Since for Protestantism faith is the basis and 
essence of religious life, the church is conceived of 
as the aggregate of those who have faith in God 
through Christ. It thus includes all Christians of 
66 






The Church and the Ministry 67 

whatever shades of opinion, provided only that 
they have a living personal faith. This is the 
ideal church, the true catholic or universal church. 
The visible church is the church organized on a 
voluntary basis in many different ways in the vari- 
ous communions, and as emphasizing the various 
phases of Christian truth. The visible church is 
thus not a single organization, but an aggregate of 
organizations composed of those who have faith 
in God through Christ. While each group of Prot- 
estants is loyal to its own opinions and practices, 
Protestantism holds that the Christian church in- 
cludes Romanist, Eastern Catholic, and Protestant 
branches. Churches exist as organizations for the 
strengthening of Christian life by means of public 
worship and instruction, Christian fellowship, and 
Christian service. The churches are also working 
forces for the evangelization and the Christianiza- 
tion of the world. In this work the laity as well as 
the ministers are assigned a very large and legiti- 
mate part. The local church in Protestantism be- 
comes also the center of social life of the people, 
a responsibility for the social life is felt, and a 
definite effort is made to meet the need. Still 
further, the Protestant churches are coming to-day 
to emphasize that the teachings of Jesus must be 
taken by Christian people, not merely into that in- 
dividual life which centers about the thought of 
individual communion with God and individual sal- 
vation, but also into those applications which will 



68 Positive Protestantism 

mean the construction of human society on the basis 
of Christian principles. All of this organized life is 
thought of as the opportunity and expression of 
faith. 

The Romanist view of the church differs from 
this conception in conceiving the ideal, invisible 
church as future and as arising from the visible 
church, and in regarding inclusion in the ideal 
church as dependent upon right relations with the 
visible church. According to Protestantism, the 
church could not exist except for the Christian dis- 
position in the hearts of those who constitute it. 
As mutual love leads to marriage, so faith in God 
and love for him lead to the institution of the 
church. Romanism, on the other hand, conceives 
that out of the church arises the disposition of a 
Christian, as if the existence of the institution of 
marriage and the performance of the ceremony 
created the mutual love. Consequently, according 
to this view, submission to the one true church is 
essential before there can be any Christian life. 
This one true church is the visible organization 
in the world which possesses certain marks: apos- 
tolicity, catholicity, holiness, and unity. 

The only church which has these marks is the 
Roman Church. Its apostolicity consists in the 
founding of the church of Rome by the apostles; 
that is, in the fact, as Romanists claim, that Peter, 
the head of the apostles, was the first bishop of 
Rome, to whom Christ handed over authority and 



The Church and the Ministry 69 

power; and in the transmission of this authority 
and power by an unbroken succession to the present 
through the bishops of Rome. Catholicity consists 
in universal diffusion throughout the world and 
" identity as to faith and communion in whatever 
place." The holiness of the church is not the 
actual achievement of holiness on the part of all 
its members, but is, according to the Roman Cate- 
chism, the church's ceremonial and historically con- 
tinuous consecration to God, its historical union with 
Christ, the head — that is, through the unbroken 
apostolic succession, not through ethical identi- 
fication of the church-members' purposes with 
Christ's — and its sole possession of the sacrificial 
cultus and of the sacraments which are the means 
of effecting true holiness. The Roman Church 
has unity through its one organization, its oneness 
of doctrinal belief, and its unchangeability through- 
out the ages. Therefore, the Roman Church is the 
only real Christian church, and alone possesses 
the power of dispensing the divine grace necessary 
for salvation. Its one chief demand is submissive 
obedience with all which that obedience involves. 
Through this obedience Romanism makes relation- 
ship to Christ depend upon relationship to the 
church, whereas Protestantism makes relationship 
to Christ determine relationship to the church. 

Rome's claims to be the only true church rest 
essentially upon the claim of apostolicity, which 
is expressed in the declaration of the Vatican Coun- 



70 Positive Protestantism 

cil that " the holy and blessed Peter . . . lives, pre- 
sides, and judges to this day and always, in his suc- 
cessors, the bishops of the Holy See of Rome, which 
was founded by him and consecrated by his blood. " 
There are three elements in this claim : ( i ) Peter 
founded the church at Rome; (2) he was its first 
bishop; (3) he was martyred at Rome. 

There is no positive evidence that Peter was 
ever at Rome except the unsupported tradition that 
he was martyred there and the patristic tradition 
of his presence in Rome, which is first clearly ex- 
pressed by Irenaeus about A. D. 176, or more than 
one hundred years after the supposed event. Quo- 
tations by Romanists of Church Fathers, who are 
supposed to give an earlier expression of the tradi- 
tion, will not bear examination. 

On the other hand, there is positive evidence 
that proves the unreliability of the first and second 
allegations of fact and leaves the third without any 
force for the Romanist contention. The supposi- 
tion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome is 
directly contradicted by the fact plainly manifested 
in the New Testament that the apostles did not 
hold local pastorates or bishoprics. Likewise, the 
New Testament account of Peter's movements 
renders it impossible to credit the tradition as 
to Peter's Roman bishopric, since that tradition 
places him in Rome during the twenty-five years 
in which the New Testament speaks of his presence 
elsewhere. Paul's letter to the Romans implies 






The Church and the Ministry 71 

(Rom. 15 : 20) that he would not have planned to 
visit or sought to influence the church at Rome had 
Peter or any other apostle been its founder. Nor, 
had Peter been bishop when this letter was written, 
as the twenty-five years of the tradition requires, 
would Paul have failed to mention him, especially 
as he sends salutations to several individuals at 
Rome. Besides, the claim of Rome is contrary to 
the very Church Fathers whose statements are sup- 
posed to favor the Roman contention. Irenseus, 
the first to give a list of the Roman bishops, specifi- 
cally says that the bishopric was committed, after 
the founding of the church, to Linus and, in the 
list of bishops following this statement, Linus is 
first, since Eleutherius appears as and is declared 
to be twelfth. Eusebius, writing about A. D. 324, 
said distinctly, " Linus was the first to obtain the 
episcopate of the church at Rome. ,, Thus the evi- 
dence of the New Testament and of the Fathers, 
Irenseus and Eusebius, disposes of the supposition 
that Peter was the founder and first bishop of the 
church at Rome. 

The church at Rome probably came into being 
naturally and spontaneously through the gathering 
in Rome of Christians from various parts of the 
empire. It is extremely doubtful that Peter was 
ever in Rome, as was just said. If Peter did die 
a martyr in Rome as alleged, that fact had no rela- 
tion to the Romanist claim to apostolicity, since the 
claim really depends on the impossible contention 

F 



J2 Positive Protestantism 

that Peter was the founder and first bishop of 
Rome. 

Even if all the allegations of fact made by Rome's 
claims were granted, the Roman contention would 
not be established, for there is not the slightest 
trace of evidence that Peter as apostle or as first 
bishop ever handed over to his supposed successor 
any prerogatives or powers. Lack of evidence at 
this point is precisely fatal to the Romanist position. 

In contrast to Romanism, whatever may be said 
of the incompleteness in the position of any single 
branch of Protestantism, Protestants, as a whole, 
have at least urged the higher ideals as to the char- 
acteristics of the true church. For Protestantism 
regards apostolicity as the inheritance of the whole 
of the Christian heritage and as agreement with the 
spirit, teachings, and practices of the New Testa- 
ment, rather than as the possession of special eccle- 
siastical prerogatives handed down by a succession 
from Peter, which cannot be given even the sem- 
blance of probability in view of the evidence. Prot- 
estants have not, as is sometimes stated, started 
new religions, but continue New Testament Chris- 
tianity in new appreciations and developments as 
much as other branches continue it in medieval and 
outworn forms. The succession of the inheritance 
of Christianity and agreement with the New Testa- 
ment, which do not depend upon the confirming hand 
of an ecclesiastical officer, constitute the only apos- 
tolic succession worth considering. 






The Church and the Ministry 73 

Further, Protestantism defines catholicity or uni- 
versality in the terms of breadth and charity to 
recognize as such all Christians who have faith 
in God through Christ and are loyal to Christ and 
the teachings of the Bible, and not as mere geograph- 
ical and external diffusion of one ecclesiastical and 
creedal type of Christianity. As a matter of fact, 
Rome has not been the mother of all churches. 
Jesus' command that preaching should begin at 
Jerusalem (Luke 24 : 47) and the whole New Tes- 
tament point to Jerusalem as the first center, and 
it is plain that Rome was far from being in any 
such position in the early Christian church. Even 
when Rome had become the center of Western 
Christianity, her relationship to the Eastern and 
Celtic Churches will not bear out her claim. In 
regard to Rome's motherhood of all modern Chris- 
tian advance, such a statement as that of Cardinal 
Gibbons * shows a strange and inexcusable ignorance 
of the history of Protestant missions. But such 
a claim of priority in introducing the gospel upon 
this or that continent is beside the mark, for cath- 
olicity depends on the possession of New Testa- 
ment saving faith. Wherever men with faith join 
together to maintain and propagate the Christianity 
of the New Testament and to practise a life in 
accord with the same, they are a part of the true 
catholic church, whatever may be their theological 
opinions or their ecclesiastical practices. The whole 

1 " Faith of Our Fathers," p. 139. 



74 Positive Protestantism 



church is truly catholic only when it includes all 
who have real faith in Jesus Christ. 

Similarly, Protestantism defines the holiness of 
the church, when considered a possession, as real 
moral achievement, and when held to be a power 
of impartation, as ability to lead by persuasion and 
other religious influence to moral achievement, and 
not as consisting in the sole possession of the sacri- 
ficial and other cultus through which alone cere- 
monial holiness can be secured. However much the 
antiquity of the church may inspire reverence, ulti- 
mately respect for the church must rest upon the 
recognition by men that it has Seen the agency in 
the hands of God in wielding those influences which 
have led to and fostered a faith in God through 
Christ and a life in accord with such faith. Neither 
the possession of, nor the power to impart, holiness 
is monopolized by any one branch of the church, as 
the moral and spiritual achievements of the various 
groups indicate. 

As to unity, Protestantism holds that real Chris- 
tian unity consists in the common possession of the 
spirit and faith of Jesus and the apostles, and in 
holding to an ethical purpose and life, such as that 
for which the Master prayed when he asked of God 
that his followers might be one as he and his Father 
were one. Such unity allows cooperation in Chris- 
tian work, and is possible in spite of divergence of 
creedal statements, in spite of a number of distinct 
church organizations, and in spite of the absence of 



The Church and the Ministry 75 

even a claim to an unchangeable or other authorita- 
tive tradition. Such unity Protestantism, in a large 
measure, already possesses. Rome, with all her in- 
tolerance, has not been able to achieve her own 
ideal of unity in her own communion, and it is her 
attitude which renders cooperation between her and 
other Christians impossible. 2 

The mere statement of these ideals of Protestant- 
ism, since they so commend themselves to the mod- 
ern mind, convincingly disposes of the claim of Rome 
to be the only true catholic church, and this dis- 
posal is confirmed by Rome's failure either to con- 
ceive or achieve these ideals. An analogous conclu- 
sion may be reached also with reference to the idea 
of the minister and his function. 

In the New Testament time ministers were simply 
those who were set aside for specific services in the 
church. One will look in vain for anything that 
smacks of a sacerdotal order. Protestants take as 
ground for their positive teaching of the priesthood 
of all believers such passages as Revelation 1 : 6 
and 1 Peter 2 : 5 (and others of the same purport 
and of corroborative significance) which refer to 
the priestly function of all Christians. According 
to this doctrine, any one who has faith may exercise 
the functions of priesthood, since faith of itself 
gives access to God without the mediation of a 
special order of officials. Communion with God, 

2 For evidence of disunion in Romanism, see larger edition, Appen- 
dix, Note 11. 



j6 Positive Protestantism 

therefore, does not wait upon sacerdotal preroga- 
tives, but is possible to the humblest Christian. 
Protestants conceive, however, that for the sake 
of orderliness and efficiency in the church's work 
it is necessary to have specially educated men to 
whom is assigned the work of ministers. Men who 
can give evidence of an inward call to such work 
and who have received sufficient training for it 
are ordained to be the spiritual leaders and teachers 
of the church. Their ordination is only the ecclesias- 
tical recognition of their call and fitness. Protes- 
tantism does not make its ministers by their ordina- 
tion into a special order of beings different from 
other Christians, and possessing divine prerogatives 
and power to dispense or withhold God's grace as 
they may see fit. Protestantism thinks of its min- 
isters only as divinely called and specially trained 
persons, chosen to perform the functions which any 
real Christian has the religious right to perform. 

The Romanist conception of the clergy, as persons 
who have been set aside as a special class with 
divine powers by the ecclesiastical institution which 
constitutes the only channel of God's grace, is clearly 
stated by the theologian Moehler : " For the exer- 
cise of public functions in the Church, for the dis- 
charge of the office of teaching, and for the admin- 
istration of the sacraments a divine internal calling 
and a higher qualification are above all things re- 
quired. . . As the preservation of the doctrine and 
institutions of Christ has been entrusted to the 



The Church and the Ministry J7 

Church ... he [the priest] receives through her ex- 
ternal consecration the inward consecration of God ; 
or, in other words, he receives through the laying 
on of hands of the bishop the Holy Ghost " (pp. 
304-306). Accordingly, the priest possesses an ex- 
ternally imparted supernatural power, which, in the 
popular mind at least, is easily merged into super- 
stitious regard for a supposed magical control of 
spiritual matters. Thomas Aquinas said : " A priest 
is a sort of middleman and mediator between God 
and the people, as w r e read of Moses, and there- 
fore it belongs to him to deliver the divine decrees 
to the people; and again, that which comes from 
the people in the way of prayers and sacrifices and 
offerings ought to be paid to God through the 
priests. " 8 Except by baptism, divine grace cannot 
be secured without the priest's activity, and not 
even in the case of baptism if a priest is accessible. 
The priest too, by his divine power, can turn bread 
and wine into the actual flesh and blood and bones 
and soul and divinity of Jesus. In the mass also 
the priest has the power of repeating Christ's sacri- 
ficial death. He holds the power of forgiving sins, 
the power of absolution, and of administering the 
sacraments upon which forgiveness depends. 4 In 
the absence of any trace of such a priesthood in 
the New Testament, it is impossible to escape the 

8 Quoted by Coppens, p. 222. 

4 For a Jesuit estimate of the priest and for the nsr of the word 
"priest" in the Douai Version, see larger edition. Appendix, Note 12. 



78 Positive Protestantism 

force and validity of the Protestant conception 
plainly supported by the New Testament, which 
holds the ministry to be an office to which is dele- 
gated for the sake of efficiency and good order 
the functions and capacities which really belong 
to any one who has faith. 

Protestantism differs from Romanism, not only 
in regard to this general conception of the minis- 
ter, but also with reference to the necessity and 
wisdom of a celibate ministry. Rome requires that 
her priests shall take the vow of celibacy in order 
that the priest, having only an ecclesiastical con- 
science, may be freer for the work of the church 
than a man of family can be, and also, and this is 
the characteristic ground, because the celibate state 
is regarded by Romanism, according to pagan 
ascetic ideas, as a higher moral state than matri- 
mony. Upon these two arguments of expediency 
and asceticism Rome must depend, for one will 
look in vain in the New Testament for any trace 
of a celibate sacerdotal order. History reveals that 
the adoption of celibacy, even theoretically, came 
only after a long struggle, and has never been uni- 
versal, since in particular the Eastern Catholic 
Church has never required it. 

The Romanist argument of expediency is based 
on a false assumption, for the Protestant minister 
with his family is no less devoted to his work than 
the Roman priest. The contacts of life with wife 
and children, the joys of these associations, and 



The Church and the Ministry 79 

even the cares of family responsibilities enrich the 
character of the minister and give him a knowl- 
edge of life which enables him to give wise advice 
and sympathy to married people. Then too, a 
married minister escapes the temptations to which 
celibacy subjects men. The effectiveness of Chris- 
tian ministers must meet the test of their moral 
integrity in relation to the opposite sex. The his- 
tory of celibacy is a sad and revolting story and 
a record of failure. 5 The Protestant ministry is 
relieved of the compulsion of celibacy's hindrance 
to effectiveness, while at the same time nothing 
prevents any man practising it if he is of that mind. 
Consequently the ministry loses nothing through the 
privilege of marriage, but rather gains in efficiency. 
The assumption as to the essential impurity of 
the sex relation is also false. This relation is as 
much God-given and as legitimately human as any 
other relation of life. Even if chastity in the sense 
of celibacy were a holier state than marriage, the 
mere vow of celibacy and the formal keeping of 
the same would not really achieve this state. Jesus 
said, " I say unto you, that every one that looketh 
on a woman to lust after her hath committed adul- 
tery with her already in his heart " (Matt. 5 : 28). 
Romanist writers themselves have given us ample 
descriptions of the internal conflicts of priests who 

5 Even Pope Pius II (14S8-1464), referring to the failure of celi- 
bacy, said, tl Reasons have been found for denying marriage to the 
clergy, but perhaps there are still greater to be found for restor- 
ing it." 



So Positive Protestantism 

nevertheless maintain their vows outwardly. But 
chastity is not to be confounded with celibacy. 
There is no higher chastity than that of a pure, 
well-regulated marriage. The New Testament 
shows us that the early ministry was married, yet 
chaste. 6 Accordingly, Protestantism repudiates the 
ascetic assumption as to celibacy and maintains the 
socially beneficial institution of the minister's family 
with its character-developing influence on the min- 
ister, and with its real contribution to the work of 
the church. 

Romanism and Protestantism have also a dif- 
ferent view as to the grades of the ministry. 
Speaking generally, the Protestants 7 of this country 
have only the two ranks of ministry, deacons and 
pastors (also called bishops or elders'), which are 
known to the Xew Testament. In congregationally 
governed bodies men entering the ministry seldom 
go first through the diaconate, as is the case in 
other bodies. Some denominations use the title 
" bishop " without distinguishing a third rank in 
the ministry. For example, the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church assigns to certain pastors the duties 
of general supervision, and then calls them, because 
of their election to perform these duties, " bishops." 
Moreover, in the last analysis the authority and 

8 For New Testament evidence, see larger edition, Appendix, 
Note 13. 

7 The Lutheran churches of the Scandinavian countries, the An- 
glican Church, and its representative in America — the Protestant 
:opal Church — have an additional rank of bishop. 



The Church and the Ministry 81 

privileges of the Protestant ministry arise from, 
and are delegated by, the people of the church, 
composed of those who have faith in Christ and 
who are members by personal choice. This ac- 
cords with the situation in the New Testament. 

Romanism has three orders of the clergy. They 
are deacons who have not yet attained to full 
priestly powers and prerogatives, priests, and lastly 
bishops, who alone can confirm and can confer 
priestly ordination, and who control, as command- 
ers, the priests of their respective dioceses. The 
ultimate source of appointment and authority of 
the priesthood of the three ranks is the pope, so 
that the priestly authority, powers, and privileges 
come down from him rather than arise from the 
people. For a long while the bishops of the early 
church, after the bishopric as a distinct office had 
been differentiated from the eldership and raised 
above it, were elected by the people of their re- 
spective dioceses. The bishopric of Protestant 
bodies which retain it preserves a greater measure 
of the freedom and democracy of this early situa- 
tion than does Romanism. 

Therefore, in regard to the ministry as in regard 
to the nature and function of the church, it is 
Protestantism, not Romanism, which is in harmony 
with the New Testament, and whose views are 
natural and reasonable. 



82 Positive Protestantism 

Quiz 

i. What is the Protestant view of the nature and 
function of the church? 2. What is the Romanist 
view ? 3. What are the Romanist " marks " ? 4. 
The Romanist claim to apostolicity and the probable 
actual origin of the church at Rome. 5. What 
is the Protestant interpretation of the so-called 
" marks " ? 6. Is the Roman Church the only true 
church? 7. What is the Protestant view of the 
ministry ? 8. What is the Romanist view ? 9. Why 
is a married ministry the better? 10. What false 
assumptions are the basis of the Romanist require- 
ment of an unmarried ministry? 1 1. What are 
the different ranks in the Protestant and in the 
Romanist ministries? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. The various evidences of the lack of unity in 
the Roman Church in the past and present. 2. The 
sense in which Protestants may trace their con- 
tinuity to the New Testament time. 3. Is your 
church apostolic? 4. The method by which Rome 
has maintained a semblance of unity. 5. The greater 
breadth of the Protestant view of the church. 



CHAPTER VI 

RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY 

For Protestants, the final authority in religion is 
the Scriptures, interpreted with the help of God's 
Spirit present in the heart through faith and by 
the best intelligence and widest knowledge obtain- 
able. Such authority is plainly not merely external. 
Protestants acknowledge the authority of the Scrip- 
ture because they are convinced of its divine value 
as the source of religious ideas and inspirations, 
and because they conceive that it can have value 
only as men use it from conviction and choice. 
This conception will be set forth below in greater 
detail after the Romanist position has been stated 
and the Protestant estimate of the same has been 
presented. 

The first step in this presentation is the Romanist 
definition of the church's infallibly authoritative 
teaching office. According to the Jesuit Coppens, 
" As a body of believers she [the church] cannot 
believe what is false; as a teaching body — and 
as such we consider her here — she cannot teach 
what is false" (p. 91). Thus Romanism takes the 
consciousness which the whole body of Christians 
have always had of their possession of God's truth 

83 



84 Positive Protestantism 

in the gospel and turns it into an indefinable super- 
natural power to avoid error in belief and in teach- 
ing. The only basis for accepting such a claim of 
power is Rome's own assertion that she possesses it. 
Rome claims to exercise this supernatural power 
in the use of Scripture. She insists that she rests 
her position on Scripture. But by virtue of her 
power in the teaching office she claims that the 
Scriptures must first be interpreted by her before 
they are of any value. For this interpretation she 
uses what she regards as valid tradition — the valid 
decrees of the general councils as she is willing to 
accord them validity, and, most important of all, the 
infallible authority of the pope's ex-cathedra decla- 
rations. Coppens says in regard to reading dog- 
matic views into the Scriptures : " A sensible trans- 
lation is an interpretation or commentary ; and every 
translator reads his own dogmatic views into the 
passages interpreted. This is as it should be when 
the dogmatic views are supported by an infallible 
authority. But heretics thus make the Bible teach 
heresy." This implies the introduction of dogmatic 
views into all interpretation of the Scripture and not 
alone into translation. Perrone (quoted by Von 
Hase) even more naively declares: " Catholics are 
not very solicitous as to the criticism and interpre- 
tation of the Holy Scripture. For they themselves, 
to put the matter in a word, have the fabric already 
prepared and complete, and stand firm and secure 
in its possession/' Romanists seem entirely ob- 






Religious Authority 85 

livious that such statements show their argument to 
be proceeding in a circle, for Rome claims to estab- 
lish her teaching by Scripture, but then establishes 
the teaching of Scripture by her dogmatic concep- 
tions. According to this assertion of the power 
of the teaching office, there is absolutely no appeal 
to Scripture which can possibly be used to refute 
Romanism because, however clearly by every stand- 
ard of science and intelligence the writers of the 
Bible meant something different from Romanist 
dogmas, they did not mean any such thing, for the 
church teaches the contrary. 

Rome's subordination of the Scripture to the 
teaching office has led to her hostility to the lay use 
of the Bible. Excepting the statements of the earliest 
popes, the official attitude of Rome has been per- 
sistently against such use. 1 In a country such as 
ours Rome grants more readily than elsewhere per- 
mission to read a version in the common tongue. 
Dens, a Romanist writer, says that the sale of the 
Douai Bible in Romanist bookstores is a relaxation 
of the rule of the church permitted in Protestant 
countries. 2 This relaxation is possibly due to the 
fear that without it intelligent laymen will make use 
of the easily accessible versions in English which 
are scholarly rather than Romanist; for, if the 
Bible is to be read, it had better be read in a ver- 

1 For evidence as to this hostility, see larger edition, Appendix, 
Note 14. 

2 Quoted by McKim, p. 176. 



86 Positive Protestantism 

sion which conserves the interests of Romanism 
as far as possible. As late as January 26, 1914, 
a public ecclesiastical burning of the Scriptures took 
place in the Philippine Islands. 3 Without running 
fatal dangers to her whole position, Rome cannot 
permit the general use of the Scriptures except 
under the control and interpretation of her teach- 
ing office. 

The teaching office is regarded as having its em- 
bodiment in tradition. Historically this was the 
first conception of the agency of the teaching power 
of the church. According to Moehler (p. 279) 
tradition " is the living word perpetuated in the 
heart of believers." In other words, it is the con- 
sensus of Christian opinion. During the first two 
or three centuries at least, this opinion was formu- 
lated necessarily by individual Fathers. Thus more 
objectively, tradition is the definite deposit of propo- 
sitions which are infallible and unchangeable. These 
are to be found in the accounts of martyrs, in 
liturgies, in the writings of the Church Fathers and 
of the schoolmen, and in inscriptions. The stand- 
ard of infallibility is that any given proposition 
should have been accepted everywhere, always, and 
by all. But this standard is an impossible one, for 
tradition is full of most incredible material. Con- 
sequently, in spite of the requirement of this stand- 
ard by the creed of Pius IV and by the Council of 
Trent, Romanism does not now ascribe infallibility 

8 See R. J. Miller, " Fundamentals of Protestantism." 



Religious Authority 87 

to all tradition, but only to that which the church 
selects as infallible. Perrone naively says, " The 
belief that prevails at present is the surest criterion 
by which to recognize what has been the belief of 
the church in each century. " Thus the teaching 
office subordinates its own embodiment to itself, and 
again argues in a circle by claiming tradition as an 
authoritative basis, but refusing any tradition that 
does not suit its purposes. 

The attitude of Protestantism toward tradition is 
intelligible and intelligent. It insists that what con- 
stitutes tradition must be determined by scientific 
study as any historical facts are determined, not 
by arbitrary selection of alleged historical situations 
to serve a special purpose. When secured, tradition 
is to be estimated according to the New Testament. 
Jesus upbraided the Pharisees for making void 
the word of God by their traditions. (Mark 7 : 
5-13.) Paul gave warning in more than one letter 
against following the traditions of men in contrast 
to his own spoken and written words of gospel in- 
struction. (Col. 2 : 8; 2 Tim. 4 : 4; 2 Thess. 2 : 15; 
3:6.) On the foundation of this scriptural atti- 
tude toward tradition, Protestantism refuses to 
allow tradition to interpret the Scripture contrary 
to its plain meaning, to set aside or supplant any 
scriptural teaching, or in any way to alter the 
Scripture. Protestantism is willing to see in tradi- 
tion, where scientific study warrants it, an unfolding 
and a corroboration of Scripture, but not an orig- 

G 



Positive Protestantism 



inal source of Christianity equal or superior to 
the Scripture. It holds that the proper source of 
Christian truth and authority is to be found in the 
Bible, and especially in Jesus' life and words, to- 
gether with their interpretation at the hands of 
the apostles who have contributed to the New Tes- 
tament. The Protestant attitude toward tradition 
is consequently reasonable and convincing. 

The church early came to feel that tradition or 
the consensus of Christian opinion was too elusive. 
This feeling resulted in the calling of councils, com- 
posed of all the bishops of the church, wherever 
located, to determine the important mooted points. 
From the fourth to the seventh century these gen- 
eral or ecumenical councils were the supreme eccle- 
siastical authority. Rome to-day recognizes the au- 
thority of those councils which she regards as truly 
ecumenical. 4 The creed of Pius IV requires this 
declaration, " I likewise undoubtedly receive and 
profess all other things delivered, defined, and de- 
clared by the Sacred Canons and General Coun- 
cils and particularly by the Holy Council of Trent." 

Yet Rome now proceeds very cautiously in claim- 
ing infallible authority for councils. For one rea- 
son, councils have sometimes been called and held 
under very trying pressure from the secular power, 
and their representative character both as to ex- 

* For a brief summary of acts of councils recognized by Rome as 
ecumenical, see R. J. Miller, " The Fundamentals of Protestantism," 
pp. i74f. Also see the International Encyclopedia, article " Coun- 
cils." 



Religious Authority 89 

tent and quality of representation may often be 
justly questioned. Besides, even those which fully 
meet the external requirements of the definition of 
ecumenical councils have disagreed among them- 
selves from time to time. 5 Consequently, in any 
given case the one council or the other was clearly 
fallible. The fallibility of councils was manifest 
fairly early in the medieval times, especially to some 
popes who began to argue for the supremacy of 
the popes over councils. In spite of this papal 
propaganda, the general council was still supreme 
at the time of the Reformation, for, just a hun- 
dred years before, the Council of Constance (1414- 
1418) settled the Great Schism by unseating three 
popes and electing another on the declared ground 
that the general council was superior to the pope. 
The papal succession since has depended upon this 
action. Yet from that time the struggle for the ex- 
altation of the pope above the council went on 
until the Vatican Council (1870) decreed that the 
pope was not only supreme, but infallible. Thus 
Rome has subjected the general council, which was 
the second historically developed agent of the teach- 
ing office of the church, to the teaching office as 
embodied in the infallible pope. 

Protestantism points to the absence from the New 
Testament of anything like a general council or its 

Of many instances of such disagreement the following example is 
sufficient. The fifth Council of Constantinople (A. D. 553) set aside 
the decision of the Council of Chalcedon as to the heresy of two 
Eastern bishops. See also larger edition, Appendix, Note 9. 



QO Positive Protestantism 

authority, and refuses, therefore, to grant that de- 
crees of councils are determinative. Any differ- 
ences between such decrees and scientifically ascer- 
tained teachings of the Scriptures must be settled 
by an appeal to the Scripture alone, for there is 
no sound reason for allowing authority to mutually 
disagreeing and therefore fallible councils. How- 
ever, Protestants hold that councils often inter- 
preted Christian truth with essential correctness, 
but such respect as they are willing to pay to 
decrees of councils is due not to the authority of 
the council, but to that of the Scriptures which the 
council in a given instance correctly interpreted. 

Final authority for Romanism now rests with the 
pope both in matters of teaching and administration, 
though infallibility is claimed only for the teaching 
function. Coppens, in referring to the decree of 
the Vatican Council, describes the pope's infallibility 
thus : " It is to be observed that the decree ex- 
plains ex-cathedra utterances to be teachings or 
definitions, not acts of government, still less of 
personal conduct; and only those teachings which 
regard faith and morals, and which the pope ad- 
dresses to the whole church in the exercise of his 
supreme apostolic authority. If there is room to 
doubt whether any particular utterance fulfils these 
conditions, the doubt is dissolved by considering 
the circumstances of the pronouncement. If doubt 
still remains, the utterance is not known for certain 
to be infallible. " This definition certainly reveals 



Religious Authority 91 

infallibility to be sufficiently elusive to serve any 
purpose of the hierarchy. 6 

Though Rome claims there has been no develop- 
ment, the decree of the Vatican Council is the cul- 
mination of Rome's long search for an external in- 
fallible authority. The claim of an unchangeable 
and infallible authority of the pope is the logical 
and absolutely necessary issue of the Romanist sys- 
tem. Without this claim Rome could not find any 
ground for her dogmas; for her rejection, for the 
sake of her own dogmatic interests, of scientifically 
reasonable interpretations of the Scriptures, of 
tradition, and of decrees of councils; for her ex- 
communication of those who refuse to submit to 
her arbitrary authority and teachings; or for her 
position that the Roman Church is the sole chan- 
nel of grace. Consequently the claim of universal, 
infallible authority is the heart of Romanism, upon 
which all else depends. 

As scriptural ground for the universal bishopric 
of the pope, Romanism claims the famous " rock 
and keys " passage. (Matt. 16 : i8f.) It holds that 
the word " rock " refers to Peter, whose name 
means rock, and consequently that Jesus here de- 
clares that Peter was to be the foundation of the 
church. This contention is maintained in spite of 
various conflicting interpretations of this passage 
by the Church Fathers, though Romanist theory 
demands the unanimous consent of the Fathers for 

6 See larger edition, Appendix, Note 15. 



92 Positive Protestantism 

its authoritative teaching. But taking the position 
that the word " rock " refers to Peter himself, the 
passage does not warrant any such conclusion as 
Rome makes from it. Jesus merely recognized 
the leadership which Peter, by his natural personal 
abilities, had already exercised and was likely to 
continue to exercise, such a leadership as was mani- 
fest in the incident which gave occasion for the 
Master's words. Any just interpretation of the 
nature of this leadership thus stated by Jesus must 
consider the rebuke which the Master adminis- 
tered immediately afterward because of Peter's lack 
of appreciation of the spiritual nature of Jesus' 
Messiahship ; the denial of Christ by Peter and its 
inevitable effect upon his standing and influence 
with the other apostles; Peter's later inability to 
realize the universal nature of the gospel (Acts 
15; Gal. 2 : 11-21)) and the position which the 
Xew Testament reveals Peter had in the primitive 
church — a position far from supremacy over others. 
These considerations make it impossible to infer 
from the word " rock " the conferring upon Peter 
of any superior rank or powers. Nor can the 
Romanist position be maintained by emphasizing 
the power of the " keys," for this same power of 
excommunication and declaring on the basis of the 
gospel the forgiveness of sins was conferred upon 
all the disciples (John 20 : 22f.) and was indeed 
recognized as belonging to the whole body of Jesus' 
followers, the church. (Matt. 18 : 15-20.) There 



Religious Authority 93 

is, therefore, no ground for the contention of Rome 
that the words " rock " and " keys " in the passage 
under discussion teach that Peter alone was given 
a special divine authority and power. 7 

The New Testament definitely contradicts the 
supposed supremacy of Peter. A number of Jesus' 
utterances 8 teach such humility and equality of fel- 
lowship and service as are absolutely incompatible 
with the supposition that he appointed any dis- 
ciple as the head of all the others with an absolute 
authority which was to be handed down by him 
through some particular group of Christ's follow- 
ers. Many facts also plainly show that Peter did 
not actually occupy a place of supremacy in the 
New Testament church. James, who was not even 
one of the original twelve, was more than Peter 
preeminently the leader at Jerusalem in the Jewish 
Christian church. (Acts 15.) Church tradition cor- 
roborates the New Testament evidence as to James' 
position. Among the Gentile Christians Paul was 
the great and recognized leader. In asserting his 
apostolic authority Paul declared, " I am not one 
whit behind the very chiefest apostles " (2 Cor. 
11 : 5). Moreover, when certain Judaizers from 
Jerusalem caused trouble in the church at Antioch, 
Peter played a subordinate and rather unenviable 
part. If the contention of Rome were valid, the 

7 For two additional passages urged by Romanists, see larger edi- 
tion, Appendix, Note 16. 

8 See Mark 9: 361".; 10: 42-45; J oIl n 13 : 1-0; Matt. 20: 27; 
23 : 8, 12. 



94 Positive Protestantism 

matter in controversy at this time would have been 
immediately referred to the supreme Peter, pos- 
sessor of the infallible teaching faculty. Instead, 
Paul rebuked Peter to his face. (Gal. 2 : 11-21.) 
Later, Paul and others went up to Jerusalem, not to 
Rome, to have the matter discussed by the brethren 
there in a friendly Christian conference. In this 
conference Peter set forth his view like any other 
member of the church, with no show of authority. 
(Acts 15 : 7-1 1.) James and Paul were the domi- 
nant figures. James, not Peter, suggested the com- 
promise which was agreed upon and according to 
which Paul was to work among Gentiles while 
James and Peter were to confine their efforts to 
Jewish regions. This agreement was set forth, 
not in the name and on the authority of Peter, but 
in the name of " the apostles, the elders (pastors 
or bishops), and the brethren." 9 In view of these 
facts given in the New Testament, it is impossible 
to suppose that the primitive church knew anything 
of the primacy of Peter or of his possession of any 
special, not to say universal, authority over the 
church. 

Even if it were granted that the New Testament 
implies that Peter personally was given some special 
position and authority, there is no shred of evi- 

9 This agreement was not even in the nature of a decree of a 
general council. No call to all the bishops or pastors was made, and 
there is no evidence that such were present except, as they were 
connected either with the Jerusalem or the Antioch church. Again, 
it is clear that the laymen had a voice in the agreement, since it is 
put forth in their name as well as in that of the apostles and elders. 



Religious Authority 95 

dence in the New Testament or elsewhere that Peter 
ever conferred, or was instructed to confer, or had 
the power to confer, universal authority over the 
church upon the Roman Church or the bishop of 
Rome. Consequently, one must conclude that there 
is no foundation in the teaching or the facts of the 
New Testament for Rome's claim that the pope is 
the universal bishop of the Christian church ap- 
pointed by God with universal authority. 

The Romanist claim also lacks any positive his- 
torical support. 10 On the other hand, certain facts 1X 
positively disprove the validity of Rome's claim. 
Many times attempts of the bishop of Rome to 
assert authority were resisted and the authority 
denied. Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) rebuked 
John, patriarch of Constantinople, for assuming the 
title of " universal bishop," and utterly repudiated 
any one's claim to such a title or authority. Many 
facts also concerning the calling of general councils, 
the presiding over them by emperors rather than 
by popes, and the confirmation of their decrees by 
the emperor further illustrate the real situation in 
the early church as lacking recognition of the pope 
as universal bishop. The persistent refusal of the 
Celtic and Eastern churches to acknowledge the 
supremacy of Rome is another indication. Con- 
sequently it is impossible to suppose that the pope 

10 For the Romanist method of arguing from historical data on 
this point, see larger edition, Appendix, Note 17. 

11 For the evidence for this and other conclusions of this para- 
graph, see larger edition, Appendix, Note 15. 



g6 Positive Protestantism 

has always and universally been recognized as the 
bishop of the church with supreme authority. 

The lack of any ground, scriptural, historical, or 
reasonable, for the belief in the universal authority 
of the pope undermines of itself the foundation 
for the claim of infallibility. But even were we 
to suppose that the pope possesses universal au- 
thority as bishop over all Christendom, it would 
still be necessary for Romanism to prove that this 
authority is infallible. Here too, scriptural and 
historical evidence is lacking. During the first 
thousand years of Christianity there is no sug- 
gestion of such infallibility, and the facts just 
considered indicate clearly that conviction as to 
infallibility was entirely wanting. Had such a con- 
viction and recognition existed during that thou- 
sand years, history would not tell its story of bitter 
doctrinal conflicts, for all controversies would have 
been settled very simply by an appeal to the infalli- 
ble pope. But actually the church took no such 
method for settling its difficulties, but rather de- 
pended for a long while merely upon the consensus 
of Christian opinion and then upon the decrees of 
general councils. Indeed, there is no ground upon 
which Romanism can support its dogma of infalli- 
bility save the mere decree of the Vatican Council 
(A. D. 1870), which by its virtual annulling of the 
declaration of the Council of Constance as to the 
supremacy of the general council over popes in- 
validates the papal succession since A. D. 1415. 



Religious Authority 97 

The case of infallibility might be left here in 
utter collapse for want of evidence, but rejection 
of it is further warranted by the facts which show 
the fallibility of the teaching office whether em- 
bodied in tradition, the general council, or the pope. 
In so far as the claim of infallibility rests upon the 
assumption of the unchangeability of the church's 
traditional practice and dogmas, it is invalidated 
by the very development of the bishopric and papacy 
itself briefly outlined above and the development of 
the conception of the proper embodiment of the 
teaching office itself. This conclusion is strength- 
ened by recalling such a well-known fact as the 
vacillation of the church with reference to per- 
mitting the laity the privilege of the cup of the 
Lord's Supper. Both as a matter of doctrine and 
of administration the church has maintained both 
sides of the controversy. 

The fallibility of general councils referred to 
above, 12 as shown by the mutual disagreements of 
councils, is put beyond question by the circum- 
stances of the Great Schism, which began in A. D. 
1378 with a dispute as to which of two rivals was 
the valid pope and continued with mutually anathe- 
matizing popes, 13 until the Council of Constance 
(1414-1418). In 1409 the Council of Pisa deposed 
both popes then reigning and elected a third, but 

12 See footnote on p. 89; also larger edition, Appendix, Note 9. 

"The Great Schism does not give US the first example of rival 
popes, for the boy Pope Benedict X was set up in 1058 in opposition 
to Pope Stephen IX. 



98 Positive Protestantism 

since the two contestants would not abdicate, there 
were now three popes anathematizing and excom- 
municating one another. The Council of Constance 
in 1415 deposed all three — one of whom, however, 
maintained his contention till his death — and elected 
a fourth. To validate this action it was necessary 
for the church to accept the decree of a general 
council as superior to the authority of the pope. 
The council, therefore, declared the supremacy of 
the council. Upon this declaration and action has 
depended the papal succession since. Yet the Vati- 
can Council, by its own supreme authority as a 
general council, decreed the supremacy of the pope 
and his infallible teaching power as a dogma of 
the church. This reversal and circular argument 
make it impossible to believe that the general coun- 
cils have acted unchangeably or infallibly. The sub- 
ordinating of the decrees of councils to the pope's 
authority, and also to the selecting function of the 
teaching office are conclusive admissions that gen- 
eral councils have been fallible. 

Likewise, abundant evidence shows popes to have 
been fallible even in statements plainly meant to 
be ex-cathedra. 1 * Popes have disagreed as to the 
interpretation of Scripture, as, for example, Gregory 
the Great and Leo XIII in reference to the famous 
" rock " passage, upon which so much depends for 
Romanism. Gregory held the word to refer to 
Peter's confession, which cuts the ground entirely 

14 See larger edition, Appendix, Note 18. 



Religious Authority 99 

from under the Romanist claim based on this pas- 
sage. Leo held to the reference to Peter himself. 
Moreover, popes have been officially declared here- 
tics as to doctrines which they had put forth under 
their papal authority. 15 In addition, popes have 
themselves declared that popes are fallible. Bene- 
dict laughingly once said, " If it is true that all 
justice and all truth is hidden in the shrine of my 
breast, yet I have never been able to find the key 
to it." It is quite impossible, therefore, to accept 
the doctrine of the infallibility of the pope. 

This unscriptural, unhistorical, and unreasonable 
dogma of infallibility rests solely on the decree of 
the Vatican Council. An understanding of how this 
decree was secured strengthens the ground for re- 
jecting it. There was no demand in the Roman 
Church at large for a pronouncement upon this mat- 
ter. When, about two generations before the Vati- 
can Council, the reestablished and rehabilitated 
order of the Jesuits undertook the patronage of 
this conception, it was merely a pious opinion held 
by some, but not compulsory for all Romanists. 
But the Roman Curia was determined to raise this 
opinion to a dogma of the church, and though there 
was strong opposition to this exaltation when the 
Vatican Council gathered, the result was a fore- 
gone conclusion. For a while unanimous consent 
could not be had because of the presence of many 

15 For a somewhat detailed statement of the evidence, see larger 
edition, Appendix, Note 18. 



ioo Positive Protestantism 

strong, able, and active opponents of the pronounce- 
ment. However, the voting opposition gradually 
melted away, for many thought it more prudent 
to go home than to stay, vote against the decree, 
,and take the consequences. Thus was achieved the 
declaration of that dogma which is the foundation 
of Romanism and which every Romanist must be- 
lieve on pain of eternal damnation. Protestantism 
repudiates it, not only because it is an unsupported 
and unwarranted assumption, but also because the 
application of such a universal and absolute author- 
ity by the papacy would, if anything like the appli- 
cation of the past, be too terrible to contemplate 
were Rome ever again to control the secular force 
necessary to compel the working of her will. 

Protestantism insists on freedom from this ex- 
ternal authority of tradition, councils; and papal 
declarations, or indeed of any ecclesiastical author- 
ity which sets aside or overrules the Scripture. 
Modern Protestantism affirms with the utmost con- 
fidence that authority in religion arises out of the 
conviction of faith which is the individual soul's 
response under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to 
Scripture teaching. For Protestantism, therefore, 
Scripture 16 is the basis of all religious authority for 
Christian thinking and life. In contrast with Rome's 
insistence on the necessity of an infallible teaching 
organ to interpret Scripture, Protestantism asserts 

16 For the differences in the canon of Scripture recognized by 
Protestants and Romanists, see larger edition, Appendix, Note 19- 



Religious Authority 101 

that any one of ordinary intelligence can read the 
Bible and understand it with sufficient exactness to 
be led to a saving faith and to a life in accordance 
with that faith. Yet Protestantism does not teach, 
as some Romanists seem so often to imply, that 
each person is to interpret the Scripture as he 
pleases. Rather each is to interpret as he conscien- 
tiously sees the evidence. For this interpretation 
the reader will have the aid of the Holy Spirit, who 
has been promised to all who have faith. (John 
16 : 13; Rom. 8 : 14.) Moreover, the best avail- 
able results of scientific scholarship are to be used 
in reaching a conclusion, but no learned views are 
compulsory as against conscientious and indepen- 
dent private judgment well based upon evidence. 
For such use of the Scriptures no infallible inter- 
pretative organ is necessary. The teachings of the 
New Testament lead us to expect, and the experi- 
ence of multitudes of Christians of all ages proves, 
that such use of the Scriptures as Protestantism 
contends for leads to real Christian life. Besides, 
Protestantism has no fear of losing its case by 
leaving the Bible open to all or by turning people 
loose to read and interpret freely as best they can. 
Indeed, it urges that very process, confident of the 
outcome. 

The Protestant use of Scripture does not lead, 
as Romanists so often contend, to a confusion which 
makes Protestant churches ineffectual in meeting 
the religious needs of people. To be sure, there are 



102 Positive Protestantism 

differences of interpretation among Protestants just 
as there are among Romanists and have always 
been among Christians. Difference of interpreta- 
tion leads inevitably to difference of theological con- 
ception, but the differences existing among Protes- 
tants are not greater than may be illustrated from 
the history of the whole church, for there have been 
many controversies and many changes in doctrine 
and practice. It is as difficult to make a systematic 
statement of Romanism by studying tradition, de- 
crees of councils, declarations of popes, and opin- 
ions of theologians, and crystallizing the Romanist 
positions, as it is to get a similar presentation of 
Protestant teaching. This is true in spite of Rome's 
claimed power to settle all matters infallibly. But 
even if there were greater confusion among Prot- 
estant theologians, it would not be of such great 
moment as any difference at all in Romanism is to 
the Romanist system, for Protestantism does not 
require an absolutely uniform statement of doc- 
trine. The Protestant conception of faith, as more 
volitional than intellectual, allows differences of 
opinion, while it strives for a unity in the spirit of 
Christ which brings men into living relationship 
with God. Earnest, conscientious Scripture reading 
will help bring this unity and general attainment of 
Christian life. 

As a matter of fact, Protestant freedom, instead 
of leading to endless confusion on account of igno- 
rance, has resulted in a great advance for theological 



Religious Authority 103 

learning. Not only have the greatest theological 
scholars of the last four hundred years been Prot- 
estants, it has been Protestant scholars who have 
created and carried forward many of the modern 
theological and biblical sciences. 17 Protestant schol- 
ars can seek for the truth unhampered by any con- 
trolling ecclesiastical authority, whether they search 
in the theological and biblical fields or in those of 
other spheres of knowledge. Romanists are ever 
subject to the control of the teaching office of the 
church, and can only find as true what the church 
approves as such. 

The contrast between the spirit of Romanist 
bondage and Protestant freedom in questions of 
authority is to be seen in the respective attitudes of 
Fenelon and Luther. Fenelon, a great seventeenth 
century leader in France, wrote an edifying book. 
Through Bossuet, a rival leader, the book was put 
upon the Index, and a letter of condemnation was 
sent to Fenelon. The letter arrived just as Fenelon 
was ascending the pulpit. He at once changed his 
sermon, and declared the necessity of submitting 
to the pope, though he was not yet informed as to 
why his book was condemned. He forbade any 
one to read the book, and had burned such copies 
as he could secure. All of this he did without hav- 
ing presented to his own mind any reasons for 
changing the statements of his book save the com- 
mand of the pope. What a contrast to Luther at 

17 See larger edition, Appendix, Note 20. 
H 



104 Positive Protestantism 

Worms ! There the humble Wittenberg monk stood 
true to his conscientious convictions in spite of the 
presence of the great personages of the empire and 
church, including the emperor himself, and in spite 
of the fact that the pope had already excommuni- 
cated him. He made no recantation as was de- 
manded, and when he declared, " Here stand I ; I 
can do nought else, God help me," he gave an im- 
mortal epitome of Protestant freedom in contrast 
to Romanist compulsion and restriction of con- 
science. 

And, after all, Romanism is in the end forced to 
the same place practically as Protestantism. Even 
in order to yield to the authority of Rome, unless 
one acts blindly one must first be convinced by the 
use of his private, individual judgment of the justice 
of Rome's claims to power. Else, why do Roman- 
ists make any argument at all. If private judg- 
ment and freedom is valid for accepting Romanism, 
so is it for rejecting it in part or in whole. Thus 
the entire question boils down to this, whether in 
reaching out for God and his life one must come 
to Rome and take what she says just because she 
says it, or, on the other hand, shall go to the Scrip- 
ture for guidance and use all other corroborating 
evidence which is available, and then in a reasonable 
way reach a conclusion. Protestantism with the 
modern world accepts the latter method, and Rome 
is herself compelled to employ it in appealing for 
acceptance of her claims. 



Religious Authority 105 

Quiz 

1. What is Rome's claim to an infallible teaching 
office? 2. What is the consequent attitude of 
Rome toward the use of Scripture? 3. What does 
Rome claim as to the authority of tradition, and 
how does she nullify that authority ? 4. What is the 
claim as to the authority of the general council, and 
how is that authority now viewed? 5. What is 
the supreme authority in the Roman Church? 6. 
What is Rome's theory of the infallible faculty of 
the pope? 7. What is the proper significance of 
the " rock " passage in the discussion of the uni- 
versal authority of the pope? 8. What are the facts 
in the New Testament which make the Romanist 
claim impossible? 9. Is there any evidence that 
Peter ever transmitted any special power? 10. 
What are some of the historical facts which make 
the Romanist claim of universal authority impos- 
sible? 11. What are the evidences of fallibility of 
tradition, councils, and popes? 12. What is the sig- 
nificance of the Vatican Council? 13. What is the 
Protestant attitude toward authority and freedom? 
14. Is there a measure of agreement among Prot- 
estants? 15. What has been the effect of freedom 
upon learning? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. Can one be free in the Protestant sense and 
accept the authority of the Scripture? 2. The dif- 
ference between the canon of the Romanists and of 



io6 



Positive Protestantism 



the Protestants. 3. The greater freedom of Ro- 
manists in this country as compared with those in 
other lands. 4. The freer use of Scriptures by 
Romanists in this country as compared with those 
in other lands. 






CHAPTER VII 

FAITH THE SUFFICIENT MEANS OF GRACE 

In contrast to Romanism, Protestants teach a broad 
inclusiveness of the Christian church, as has al- 
ready been stated. Many Roman Catholics, includ- 
ing some recognized teachers, admit, as do all intel- 
ligent persons, the reprehensibility of bigotry, and 
entertain the broader view that Protestants who 
are faithful to their convictions may be saved. In 
this opinion they are broader and more charitable 
than their church. Nothing can be clearer in Ro- 
manist teaching than the authoritative declarations as 
to Rome's sole possession of the channel of grace. 1 
" As the Fourth Lateran Council puts it, ' Out of the 
church no man is saved.' " 2 The Syllabus of Errors 
(1864) condemns the error that "we may enter- 
tain at least a well-founded hope for the eternal 
salvation of all those who are in no manner in the 
true church of Christ. ,, These and many other 
authoritative statements show what the Romanist 
position is. 

No refutation of such a position is necessary for a 
modern mind, but it is worth while calling attention 

1 Sec larger edition, Appendix, Note 31. 
% Quoted by Coppens, p. 60. 

TO/ 



108 Positive Protestantism 

to the invalidity of the appeal of the Romanist argu- 
ment to certain passages of Scripture. These pas- 
sages refer to the exclusion of some members by 
the New Testament church. They certainly imply 
that there are just grounds for excluding church- 
members. But there is not the slightest hint that 
mere difference of theological opinions, which in 
themselves are not incompatible with loyalty to 
Christ, and God, are such grounds, and, least of all, 
is there any support for supposing that difference 
from the Roman Church is ground for excluding 
men from communion with God. 

If any one supposes that this position of Rome is 
only an old one, no longer really held, let him re- 
call the claim of Rome to unchangeability. 3 Let 
him estimate the significance also of the following 
Romanist statements. Cardinal Gibbons says, " The 
Catholic Church alone teaches doctrines which are 
in all respects identical with those of the first teach- 
ers of the gospel/' Such bigotry is for Romanists 
only faithfulness to their convictions, as Coppens 
states : " Those who teach that in religious matters 
every one should judge for himself are irrational 
and bigoted when they condemn the belief of others ; 
but whoever believes in ' one fold and one shepherd ' 
must look upon schism and heresy as most deplor- 
able evils; and the commissioned guardian of the 
1 one faith ' must denounce all who assail its unity." 
Accordingly, the bigots are those who, while holding 

3 See larger edition, Appendix, Note 21. 



Faith the Sufficient Means of Grace 109 

and stating strong convictions, nevertheless are suf- 
ficiently broad to be charitable toward those who 
differ from them in religious matters, while the un- 
bigoted attitude is that of denunciation of all who 
differ. Romanists seem entirely oblivious of the 
fact that their own statement makes their consis- 
tency the most bigoted position possible. 

Coppens also says : " Though many of their mem- 
bers [Protestant sects] no doubt lead good lives ac- 
cording to their imperfect lights, few claim heroism 
or miracles, and their doctrines of faith or justifica- 
tion do not tend to holiness. Of course the ex- 
ceptional virtue of a few would not be a mark of 
the holiness of their sect." This statement is made 
apparently in all seriousness in a work which is 
intended to be a text-book on Romanist teaching 
for the use of Romanist young people. A similar 
absurdity is the statement of Perrone : " The more 
innocent the life of a Catholic is, the more clearly 
he adheres to his church ; while his attachment be- 
comes looser in proportion as he surrenders him- 
self to depraved habits. On the other hand, a Prot- 
estant, the more depraved his heart and unre- 
strained his life, clings so much the closer to his 
sect; whereas the more distinguished he is for 
blamelessness of morals the more doubtful he be- 
comes as to the truth of his sect, and so comes 
over to the Catholic religion." All of this is non- 
sense, and reveals that Romanists who formally 
set out Romanist ideas are as ignorant of Protes- 



HO Positive Protestantism 

tants and Protestantism as some irresponsibile Prot- 
estants are with reference to Romanists and Ro- 
manism. Even a Romanist could address the Vati- 
can Council thus : " The Saviour practised in word 
and deed gentleness, meekness, forgiveness. What 
do we do as opposed to this? What is demanded of 
us ? We condemn ; we put on the Index ; we shriek, 
1 Heresy, Schism ! ' " Such a remonstrance shows 
that narrowness persists in Romanism and official 
Romanists down to the present. 

How much more in keeping with the spirit of 
the New Testament and with the modern mind is 
the broad view of Protestantism! This view not 
only appeals by its breadth, but it also assures by 
the certainty which it gives as to spiritual life. 
Thus Protestantism reaches the goal which Roman- 
ism with its entire conception of the church and its 
authority does not. 

The crowning consideration of Rome is that only 
in the one true Catholic Church, with her divinely 
ordained priesthood and apostolic succession and 
with her infallible authority, can religious certainty 
be had. But in view of such a claim, what shall 
we say of the fact that Luther, while still a most 
sincere, devout, earnest, and loyal son of the church, 
could find no certainty in all the Romanist system 
to satisfy the need of his soul? What shall we 
say of the similar experience of Loyola, the founder 
of the Jesuits, who could find no spiritual satisfac- 
tion until, like Luther, he had personally surren- 






Faith the Sufficient Means of Grace in 

dered to God through faith? What shall we say 
too, of the declaration of Romanists that no one 
can be sure of his personal salvation? What shall 
we say of the teaching that the very infallibility of 
the pope eludes us unless we can be certain that 
the pope intended an utterance as infallible, whether 
he stated his intention or not? How shall the 
ordinary Christian be without doubt when, for ex- 
ample, Cardinal Manning declares that the " syl- 
labus of 1864 was part of the supreme and infalli- 
ble teaching of the Church/' but Cardinal Newman 
was of the opinion that it was of " no dogmatic 
force " ? What shall we say of the fact that, despite 
claimed infallible power to teach, no full and com- 
prehensive codification of the teachings of Roman- 
ism has ever been put forth by the infallible teach- 
ing magisterium, but all, in and out of the church, 
are left to gather the church's teaching from the 
various authoritative sources ? Why has the Roman 
Curia with its infallible power studiously avoided, 
so far as can be judged, pronouncements upon mat- 
ters in dispute between various orders, such as the 
Dominicans and Franciscans? Or, what shall we 
say of the doctrine of intention? If the grace of 
the sacraments is conveyed only when the priest so 
intended, as Romanism holds, how can the recipient 
be sure of the unannounced intention of the priest, 
and how, then, can he be sure that he has received 
this grace without which he must be lost and for the 
certainty of whose reception the entire Romanist 



H2 Positive Protestantism 

system exists? And, further, how does this doc- 
trine of intention affect the certainty of the entire 
Romanist structure, since, at some vital point or 
points of the transmission of apostolic succession, a 
bishop may not have intended to convey grace? 
Perrone answers this question, as in the end every 
Romanist must answer all questions of certainty, 
when he says we " must trust Providence.' 5 But 
in such an answer Romanism comes over to the 
Protestant ground of certainty, namely, faith in 
God. Thus the boasted certainty of the infallible 
system of Romanism turns out to be a slippery, 
elusive thing and ends in a confession of the worth 
of the Protestant basis of surety in religion. 

Protestant teaching affirms that when men take 
toward God the attitude of faith, there comes a fel- 
lowship with God which in itself begets religious 
certainty. There is no surer certainty than that 
which arises out of one's own experience. So Paul's 
statement, " The Spirit himself beareth witness with 
our spirit, that we are children of God " (Rom. 
8 : 16), becomes in part the scriptural ground of 
that certainty which every possessor of faith in 
God may attain in his own personal experience. 
Among other passages which base certainty in faith 
is Jesus' utterance, " He that heareth my words, 
and believeth (hath faith in) him that sent me, 
hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but 
hath passed out of death into life" (John 5 : 24). 
The simple fact which the history of Christianity, 



Faith the Sufficient Means of Grace 113 

and particularly of the Protestant churches, reveals 
is that millions of men have out of their simple 
faith in God as their Father come to a certainty 
of their relationship to him controlling for life. 
What better certainty is needed? Surely no other 
kind can issue in more practical Christian living 
than has been manifested in Protestant character 
and church work. Romanism fails utterly to secure 
certainty in any sense, while Protestantism at least 
has found the way to certainty sufficient for Chris- 
tian living. It is this kind of certainty that the New 
Testament gives and the world needs. 

HF* * *¥ 
Quiz 

1. Does Rome actually claim to be the only agency 
of salvation? 2. What is the alleged Scripture basis 
for this claim? 3. Is this claim still maintained? 

4. What is the elusive claim of Rome to certainty? 

5. What is the ground of certainty for Protestants? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. Your personal experiences with Romanists in 
regard to the claim as to the sole channel of grace. 
2. The possible directions in which Romanism 
might be invalidated by supposing the lack of in- 
tention on the part of any official in transmitting 
grace. 3. The basis of certainty in any vital matter. 
4. Do Protestants possess the consciousness of cer- 
tainty as to religious welfare? 



CHAPTER VIII 

ROMANIST DEFORMITIES 

For the sake of leaving undisturbed the progress 
of the main lines of thought in the preceding chap- 
ters, some matters have been left to be considered 
here which are really connected with various pre- 
ceding discussions. One of these is the Protestant 
estimate of monasticism and its vows. 

Monasticism is not of Christian origin, but has 
existed in paganism before and after Christ. It 
connects very directly with the doctrine of salva- 
tion by meritorious works. Monastic vows are 
works of supererogation, and the many religious 
activities advised and required by the Church are 
additional meritorious works for which the monk 
has more time than others. Chateaubriand, the 
French author and statesman, once said, " I have 
not reached the goal ; I have not put on the monk's 
cowl." The Romanist ideal of piety is the piety 
of " the religious " in the cloister, and those outside 
must be contented with a lesser piety than is pos- 
sible for these. 

Undoubtedly monks and the like have always pos- 
sessed more time than others for the activities 
which Romanism has regarded as pious. But Prot- 
114 



Romanist Deformities 115 

estantism does not regard these activities highly for 
the reasons stated above in the chapter on legal- 
ism. In medieval times monastic orders were, to 
be sure, of real value to agriculture in the reclama- 
tion of land and in the development of agricultural 
knowledge ; to literature, in preserving and copying 
manuscripts ; to art, in a number of ways ; to Chris- 
tian missions, and to education. These, however, 
were not the main but the incidental reasons for 
the existence of the orders. Moreover, the orders 
invariably became rich, and their riches corrupted 
them; thus was the vow of poverty brought to 
nought. Also, these institutions which were in- 
tended to take the sex relation out of the physical 
realm and make of it a spiritual and etherealized, 
beautiful thing came to be, because of inherent 
tendencies, the center of moral corruption which 
had in the Reformation time gone beyond descrip- 
tion and modern belief. Thus was celibacy nega- 
tived in the monastery's most prosperous period. 
In one order at least, that of the Jesuits, which 
now seems to dominate Romanism, the vow of 
obedience worked out to such an impossible moral 
code and to such vicious activities that even Rome 
itself could not abide the order. 1 Clement XIV, 
in 1773, dissolved it, and it did not secure restoration 
until 1814. In addition to these failures of monas- 
ticism in its essential aims, the monasteries have 

1 The Jesuits have been expelled from time to time from nearly 
every Roman Catholic country in the world, and from all of the 
European lands. 



n6 Positive Protestantism 

been the seats of the grossest superstitious ideas and 
practices. Surely the balance between the good and 
evil of them must be considered to weigh heavily 
toward evil. 

But the main objection of Protestantism to mo- 
nasticism is that the monastic ideal is against nature 
and contrary to the example of Jesus and the apos- 
tles who lived strongly in the common walks of 
life. If an ideal is really such, it ought to bear 
universal application; but thus to apply one ele- 
ment of monasticism, namely, celibacy, would de- 
populate the world. The truest and highest type of 
Christian life is achieved, not in the shelter of 
the cloister, but in the hot struggle of every-day 
living. Furthermore, Protestantism holds as im- 
moral the taking of irrevocable vows at a young, 
tender, and unsophisticated age, 2 for this puts the 
future in fetters. At such an age, or indeed at 
what age, is such a relinquishment of life and its 
opportunities for developing character by struggle 
in the world justifiable? A real morality will give 
men certain fundamental and guiding principles as 
a basis of life, yet will leave them free to meet 
the changing exigencies of human existence. The 
ideal of the Christian in the world, freely fighting 
the battle of life with God's help on the basis of 
Jesus' actual teaching and in his spirit of faith in 
God, Protestantism urges over against the monastic 
ideal of Romanism. 

3 Rome names sixteen for boys and twelve for girls. 



Romanist Deformities 117 

One of the practices of the monks and other 
Romanists has been veneration and invocation of 
the saints. This practice began quite early in the 
history of the church after the fate of martyrs 
came to impress deeply the minds of Christians. 
Later the achievement of any special virtue was 
enough to raise a prominent person to a kind of 
veneration. When canonization of saints came 
under regulation, other marks, such as the working 
of at least two miracles, were required. In later 
times political influences and payments of money 
had their part in the final decision as to canonization 
which rested with the pope. Some Romanists con- 
ceive that the pope is merely guided to declare the 
exaltation to sainthood which heaven has already 
decreed. Others consider that the pope's decision 
exalts, so that through the authority to canonize the 
pope controls the blessings of heaven as through 
the power of indulgences he controls the torments 
of purgatory. Canonized saints are to be venerated 
and their intercession with God on behalf of the 
supplicators is to be invoked because deemed valu- 
able just as a friend's prayers in this world are 
worth ful, only the influence of the saints with God 
is much greater than an earthly friend's can be. 
Veneration and invocation of the saints are not com- 
pulsory, yet, because of the authoritative statements 
of the church, every Romanist must believe in these 
practices though not following them, and if anyone 
renounces them he incurs Rome's displeasure. 



1 1*8 Positive Protestantism 

Protestantism rejects veneration and invocation 
of the saints in the first place because there is 
no scriptural ground for it. Leaving aside the one 
apocryphal passage (2 Mace. 12 : 43f.), which Prot- 
estantism does not accept as Scripture since it is 
not a part of the Scripture canon, 3 Cardinal Gib- 
bons' asserted wealth of quoted Scripture is almost 
entirely instances of men in this world praying for 
one another, and the rest is so far beside the 
mark that it does not need discussion. Protestant- 
ism, moreover, urges that no one knows whether 
those who have gone to the other world can hear 
and comply with the requests made of them by those 
in this world. Cajetan, the frank and great debater 
against Luther on behalf of Rome, said, " We have 
no certain knowledge as to whether the saints are 
aware of our prayers, although we piously believe 
it." Protestantism also avers that this practice 
seems to arise out of a misconception of God which 
appears to be characteristic of Romanism, namely, 
that like an Oriental monarch God is difficult of 
approach and is to be reached by his children only 
in some indirect way. In truth God will gladly 
hear any of his children. In the New Testament 
Jesus Christ is made the only mediator between 
God and men, and the significance of this mediator- 
ship is a very different one from that of the 
saints as conserved by Romanism. 

But it is against the inevitable development of the 

8 See larger edition, Appendix, Note 19. 



Romanist Deformities 119 

simpler Romanist veneration and invocation into 
an actual worship and a real polytheism that Prot- 
estantism most strongly protests. It is very difficult 
to keep in mind the distinction, nicely drawn by 
Romanist thinkers, between venerating the saints 
and venerating the Christ reflected in them. The 
common man really venerates and invokes the saint. 
Nor can he maintain the distinction of the theo- 
logians in holding that " latria " is worship of God, 
" dulia " veneration of the saints, and " hyper- 
dulia " the intermediate veneration given to Mary. 
These distinctions in the attitudes of worship inevi- 
tably fade in practice. Veneration and invocation of 
the saints thus becomes an actual worship of saints 
which cannot be distinguished practically from wor- 
ship of God. At least the prayers to the saints are 
often such as might be directed to God himself, 4 for 
they are petitions to be answered directly by the 
saints and not by God at the intercession of the 
saints. Thus saint-worship degenerates into a kind 
of polytheism in which the saints are supposed to 
have good and evil influences over the various af- 
fairs of men. In consequence all but incredible 
superstition has inevitably followed. 5 On account 
of this degeneration Protestantism rightly repu- 
diates veneration and invocation of the saints. 

But Protestants were not the first to oppose such 
superstition and idolatry. Peter refused to allow 

4 For examples, see larger edition, Appendix, Note 22. 
8 See Von Hase's " Handbook." 



120 Positive Protestantism 

Cornelius to fall down and worship him. (Acts 
10 : 25.) The men of Lystra attempted to make 
sacrifices to Barnabas and Paul, but were rebuked. 
(Acts 14 : 12-15.) Paul says (Col. 2 : 18), "Let 
no man rob you of your prize by worshiping of the 
angels." According to the book of Revelation (19 : 
10 and 22 : 8f.), John himself is represented as 
being rebuked for attempting to worship an angel. 
Tertullian and Augustine spoke out against this 
practice, and through the centuries there has been 
considerable additional opposition, even among Ro- 
manists. Protestants therefore have for their re- 
jection of veneration and invocation of the saints 
most excellent warrant in the scriptural writers and 
the Church Fathers. 

The climax of saint-worship is the cult of Mary, 
which is open to precisely the same objection as all 
other saint-worship and in an increased degree be- 
cause of the exaggerated titles applied to her and 
the wide range of requests which she is asked to 
answer. 6 But this is not the entire indictment of 
Protestantism against the worship of Mary. The 
complete dogma concerning Mary, which is a pecu- 
liarly Romanist conception unacceptable to all the 
rest of Christendom, holds that Mary was immacu- 
lately conceived, that is, without original sin with- 
which all other human beings save Jesus have been 
born; that she was sinless herself; that she re- 

6 For examples of titles and prayers, see larger edition, Appendix, 
Note 23. 



Romanist Deformities 12 1 

mained perpetually a virgin; that she possesses at- 
tributes well-nigh, if not completely, divine; and 
that she is an intercessor with God and her son 
Jesus on behalf of her worshipers. Of Mary's sin- 
lessness there is no hint in the New Testament, 
though Jesus is so depicted. The supposition that 
Mary remained perpetually a virgin is in direct con- 
tradiction of the passages in the New Testament 
which refer to Jesus' natural brothers and sisters. 
(Matt. 12 : 46; Mark 3 : 31; 6 : 3; Luke 8 : 19; 
John 2 : 12; 7 : 3, 5.) The New Testament gives 
no trace of Mary's immaculate conception. Yet 
Heinrich, 7 while admitting candidly the lack of 
scriptural support for the dogma concerning Mary, 
actually asserts on the claim of the unrestricted 
power of the church that the dogma is stronger 
because there is no scriptural evidence. He says: 
" Ecclesiastical science stands under the direction of 
the infallible teaching office of the Church. . . We 
are at this point in a better case than we are when 
by means of purely exegetical helps we arrive, 
more or less immediately, at an article of faith as 
the contents of any text of Holy Scripture." Nor 
is there any positively historical support for the 
dogma. On the other hand, it is positively opposed 
by such great Fathers as Saint Augustine, Saint 
Bernard, and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Conse- 
quently, unless one is willing to accept the mere as- 
sertion of the Roman Curia, there is absolutely no 

7 Quoted by Foster. 



122 Positive Protestantism 

reason for assenting to this doctrine concerning 
Mary. 

The manner of promulgating the dogma dis- 
credits it. The Franciscans and Dominicans had 
quarreled over its validity for centuries, and no 
council has passed upon its truth. The Council of 
Trent was discreetly silent. But Pius IX, without 
any wide-spread demand in the church for a pro- 
nouncement upon the subject, proclaimed the dogma 
by his own infallible power which he was then as- 
serting. Apparently the promulgation of this dogma 
was made as a test as to whether his authority, un- 
supported by the decree of a general council, would 
be accepted. Later the Vatican Council, in decree- 
ing the infallibility of the pope, affirmed as a con- 
sequence this pronouncement. To-day a loyal Ro- 
manist must believe it, not because it can be proved 
to be true, but because the pope has declared it is 
true. In rejecting 8 this unsupported and incredible 
doctrine, Protestants wonder at the credulity of 
Romanists. 

Analogous to saint-worship is the veneration of 
images of Christ, Alary, and the saints. This is not 
to be confused with actual worship. Virtue is at- 
tributed, not to the images, but only to those who 
are represented. But here again the common prac- 
tice of the people cannot maintain the theoretical 
distinction. The tendency to venerate the concrete 
image is inevitable and is furthered by the formula 

8 The doctrine is also rejected by the Eastern Catholic Church. 



Romanist Deformities 123 

of presentation by the priest, " Come, let us adore." 
Such a practice ought to have been prevented by 
the use of the second of the Ten Commandments, 
especially as the English Douai Version renders 
this commandment thus : " Thou shalt not make 
to thyself any graven thing. . . Thou shalt not adore 
them, nor serve them " (Exod. 20 : 4-6). Romanist 
writers feel the difficulty, for their editions of the 
Ten Commandments are numbered differently from 
those used by Protestants in order to make up for 
their omission of the entire second commandment 
just quoted. 9 Not only the Scriptures, but also 
the early Fathers from Justin Martyr to Origen 
abhorred image-worship. In later years and cen- 
turies a struggle against their use took place. 10 Yet 
the Council of Trent, which expressly set up the 
standard of the unanimous consent of the Fathers, 
approved veneration of images. Protestantism re- 
jects this practice both because of the teaching of 
Scripture and also because of the superstition which 
always results from it. 

Another piece of Romanist externality is con- 
nected with the doctrine concerning penance, name- 
ly, indulgences. Since the church is supposed to 
have in penance the power of inflicting penalties 
for and so meeting temporal punishment 1X of sin, 

9 See an edition widely used in the British Isles and one in " The 
Catholic Faith — A Compendium, authorized by Pius IX," p. 43. 
These are referred to by R. J. Miller, p. 147. 

10 See, for conciliar action, larger edition, Appendix, Note 9. 

11 For a definition of temporal punishment, see p. 48 fn. 



1^4 Positive Protestantism 

she is also held to have the power of removing these 
penalties and of pardoning temporal punishment it- 
self. Cardinal Gibbons says, "An indulgence is sim- 
ply a remission in whole or in part, through the 
superabundant merits of Jesus Christ and his saints, 
of the temporal punishment due to God on ac- 
count of sin, after the guilt and eternal punishment 
have been remitted." For example, by the gift of 
alms to the poor or by a gift of money to the 
church, a certified check, so to speak, is obtained 
on the treasury of merits laid up by Christ and 
by the supererogatory works of the saints. This 
credit is sufficient to remit by virtue of an indul- 
gence temporal punishment in this world and in 
purgatory. In view of the great trouble stirred up 
in the past on account of indulgences, 12 promulga- 
tions and sales on a large scale have for a long time 
been avoided by Rome. Yet indulgences are still 
granted. For example, by the indulgence set forth 
by the Holy League of the Sacred Heart of Jesus an 
adulterer will secure, by merely wearing a pre- 
scribed badge upon the lapel of his coat at mass on 
Sunday morning, as great merit as under the very 
ancient penitential system of voluntary penitential 
acts such a one could secure by seven years and 
seven times forty days of most rigorous penitential 
practices, such as standing among the weepers out- 
side the church door clothed in penitential garments. 

12 It is to be recalled that John Hus in Bohemia, and one hundred 
years later Martin Luther in Germany, broke with Rome over this 
matter. 



Romanist Deformities 125 

According to papal indulgences the climbing of the 
holy staircase in Rome in Holy Week earns nine 
years' indulgence for each step climbed ; or, the mere 
act of kissing the cross in the Colosseum earns 
one hundred days' indulgence. Such trifling with 
sacred ideas is almost unbelievable on the part of 
sensible people, much less would we suppose that 
the members of the hierarchy, which claims to have 
a monopoly on salvation and religious knowledge, 
would be guilty of such absurdities. 

The Scriptures have absolutely no support for 
the doctrine of indulgences. Saint Thomas Aquinas, 
the greatest of the medieval Romanist theologians, 
makes various explanations of their validity, but 
finally comforts himself with the assertion that it 
would be conceded by all that indulgences were 
worth something, seeing that it would be impious 
to say that the church does anything in vain. That 
is about as much as the doctrine has to build on. 
Protestants condemn indulgences for their lack of 
basis in Scripture or reason, for their unethical ex- 
ternality and triviality, and for their inevitable con- 
nection with the commercialism and abuses which 
have always marked their promulgation and sale on 
a large scale. 

Consideration of indulgences naturally suggests 
purgatory, which is the state of existence after 
death in which the soul is prepared for heaven by 
a process of purging from the sin that may still 
adhere to one at death. Cardinal Gibbons and the 



126 Positive Protestantism 

Catholic Encyclopedia give examples of arguments 
which seek to base the conception of purgatory 
on Scripture. But this same encyclopedia very 
frankly sets such arguments aside in this declara- 
tion : " We would appeal to those general principles 
of Scripture rather than to particular texts often 
alleged in proof of purgatory. We doubt if they 
contain an explicit and direct reference to it." This 
ought to be sufficient even for the Romanists to 
see that there is no definite scriptural ground for 
belief in purgatory. 

Absence of Scripture is not the only objection 
to the idea of purgatory. The assumption that 
penalties remain to be met after sin is forgiven is a 
narrowing of God's willingness to forgive, where- 
as the Scripture teaches that peace of mind and 
assurance of forgiveness come through faith. More- 
over, the doctrine is self-contradictory. Romanist 
theologians argue that purgatory is a real blessing, 
since it is an opportunity for preparing for heaven 
by purificatory suffering. But if purgatorial suffer- 
ing is a blessing, why should it be arbitrarily short- 
ened? Purgatory cannot be at the same time a 
blessing to be desired and a curse to be shunned, 
to avoid whose punishments masses must be said 
and indulgences granted. If a surgical operation 
is a real blessing, it would be foolish to pay the 
surgeon to shorten arbitrarily the process with- 
out whose completion the benefit could not be 
wrought, and instead have him declare that the 



Romanist Deformities 127 

blessing had been effected. Yet precisely similar is 
the idea of shortening purgatorial purifying by the 
arbitrary introduction of ecclesiastical decrees and 
the like. 

Unscriptural and inconsistent, the doctrine as to 
purgatory is also very uncertain. The uncertainty 
connected with it leads to great evil. In spite of 
Rome's great claims to religious knowledge and cer- 
tainty in general, nothing is more uncertain than 
hopes concerning purgatory. No one can tell who is 
there, how long they will stay, nor how many masses, 
prayers, and indulgences will get them out. The 
one certain thing is that the believer may keep on 
paying for masses and prayers as long as he will. 
This situation has been the prolific cause of the 
evils due to the doctrine of purgatory. These are 
scandals connected with prayers for the dead: the 
commercialized exploitation of the grief of people 
in order to get them to pay for prayers; the con- 
sequent deadening of the moral and religious sen- 
sibilities of the priests who devote most of their 
time to this; the mechanical weighing of so many 
masses for so much money over against so much 
purgatorial suffering; the extortions which have 
been practised; the fears which have been played 
upon in order to yield a rich revenue for avaricious 
ecclesiastics and for a needy hierarchy; and the 
superstitions which have been promoted by the fear 
of purgatory. The idea of purgatory and all that 
accompanies it seems to Protestants to be a part of 



128 Positive Protestantism 

that superstitious side-religion which was mentioned 
above. 13 

Another element of Romanism akin to purgatory 
and indulgences is the estimate of pilgrimages as 
meritorious acts by which indulgences applying to 
purgatory and other supposed advantages may be 
gained. Undoubtedly some places in the world, 
because of their association with great men or great 
experiences, may well be worth a visit. Indeed, 
it is readily conceivable that such a visit, accom- 
panied by real piety and the religious meditations 
aroused by a particular set of associations, may 
issue in real religious aid. Any spiritual value, how- 
ever, arises quite entirely from the inner attitude 
and thought of the pilgrim. Pilgrimages merely as 
such have no merit, and they have in the past 
too easily given occasion for superstitious ideas and 
practices where the presence of God or of some 
saint, especially Mary, has been localized for the 
purpose of attracting people, or some image or 
statue has been all but deified, and where magical 
power has been attributed to tombs and other spe- 
cial places. Protestantism, therefore, affirms that 
pilgrimages have no saving merit, since faith, not 
external action, is the basis of God's forgiveness. 

13 In view of the real situation Cardinal Gibbons' statement is both 
astounding and absurd in implying ignorance on the part of Protes- 
tants who reject purgatory: " Now the same motive which you have 
for rejecting the opinion of an ignorant politician, and embracing that 
of eminent jurists on a constitutional question, impels you to cast 
aside the novelties of religious innovators, and to follow the unani- 
mous sentiments of the Fathers in reference to the subject of purga- 
tory." 



Romanist Deformities 129 

The situation is very similar with reference to 
relics, the honor paid them, and the expectations 
of help from them. Mementoes are interesting in 
proportion to the importance of the person or place 
to whom or to which the memento is attached. But 
when supernatural power which is no other than 
magical is attributed to various relics, and when 
revenue is thus secured, it is out of the question 
to avoid fraud as to identity of the relic and as to 
its alleged characteristics and powers. 14 The frauds 
and superstitions connected with relics, as Von Hase 
points out, have been possible only with the con- 
nivance of priests and nuns, and indeed the pope 
himself has taken a hand in encouraging the use of 
relics. The Council of Trent gave specific command 
for bishops with due regard for validity to instruct 
the faithful in honoring them. As long as any 
given relics have attracted people and have yielded 
a revenue, their use has been permitted in spite of 
very uncertain, not to say false, identity. Prot- 
estantism from the beginning, chiefly because it 
bases religion in faith and not in performing cer- 
tain external, supposedly meritorious acts, but also 
because of the frauds and superstitions connected 
with the use of relics, has refused to allow that 
honoring them or in any way using them constitutes 
a religious act. 

14 Von Hase's account of frauds and superstitions connected with 
honoring of relics makes interesting reading in the field of legerde- 
main and human credulity and gullibility. The present writer knows 
of the selling, in recent years, of charms and amulets by a priest. 



130 Positive Protestantism 

Quiz 

1. What is the ideal, the value, and the evil of 
monasticism ? 2. What is veneration of the saints, 
and what are the grounds of Protestant rejection? 

3. What is the Romanist teaching concerning Alary? 

4. What are the grounds of the Protestant rejec- 
tion of this teaching? 5. What is the Protestant 
attitude toward veneration of images? 6. What is 
the Romanist conception of indulgences, and why 
do Protestants reject this conception? 7. What is 
purgatory? 8. What are the Protestant objections 
to the doctrine of purgatory? 9. What is the Prot- 
estant attitude toward relics and pilgrimages ? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. Is there any place for monasticism in modern 
life? 2. Can one pray to any person without wor- 
shiping? 3. Your personal knowledge of Romanist 
practices in connection with veneration of saints, 
Mary, relics, and places of pilgrimage. 4. Present 
use of indulgences. 5. The system of paying for 
prayers to be said by proxy now in use among 
some Romanists. 6. Superstitious practices in vogue 
among Romanists coming under your personal ob- 
servations or found in your reading. 



CHAPTER IX 

WORSHIP AND FREEDOM 

Some further implications of Protestantism may be 
seen in a comparison of Romanist and Protestant 
worship. Public worship in a Romanist church * is 
chiefly the mass which, together with the com- 
munion, is really a prolonged observance of the 
Lord's Supper. Incense is used. As the mass is 
said in the Latin language, the people can only 
follow the actions of the priest and acolytes, and 
at the designated moment adore the elevation of 
the " host." So far from the ceremony, except at 
the moment of the elevation, are the minds of the 
worshipers that it is not uncommon to see them 
telling their beads during the mass, depending ap- 
parently upon its supposed divine effect without any 
reference to their entering consciously into the cere- 
mony. Thus they kill two birds with one stone. 
Sermons are preached, but not always, and occupy 
relatively a very much less important and effective 
place than in Protestant churches. Romanist wor- 
ship appeals to those who must worship through the 
outward and sensuous covered with a more or less 

1 The communion is participated in by only a comparatively few at 
any one time, so that for most people the mass Is the whole of the 
service. 

131 



132 Positive Protestantism 

thin veil of estheticism. It is this, perhaps, which 
explains its hold upon the masses of people who 
tend in the direction of externals rather than of the 
inwardly spiritual. 

Protestant worship has no mass, and regards in- 
cense as pagan. It is in most branches of Protes- 
tantism less ornate than in Romanism, though to-day 
many Protestant churches show a marked tendency 
to give larger place to ritualistic impressiveness 
in public worship. If Protestant worship is less 
spectacularly impressive, the lack of ornateness is 
more than compensated for by those features which 
are given more effective use by Protestants or 
are entirely lacking in Romanism. The sermon is 
perhaps the outstanding feature of Protestant ser- 
vices, and through it a larger place is given to the 
intellectual interest and to direct moral appeal than 
in Romanist worship. Elements of Protestant wor- 
ship entirely lacking in Romanism are congrega- 
tional singing ; public Scripture reading by the min- 
ister and by the people either responsively or in 
unison ; and the impromptu public prayer, character- 
istic of most Protestant churches, in which the Prot- 
estant minister fulfils the true priestly function of 
lifting up the people to God by expressing for them 
their innermost aspirations, their faith, and their 
spirit of sacrifice. Besides the regular church ser- 
vices, Protestants also have public worship in the 
Bible school in public prayer, in Bible reading, 
and in congregational singing. The prayer-meeting, 



Worship and Freedom 133 

which is conducted by most Protestant churches, 
includes the elements of worship already mentioned 
and two others for which Romanism has no counter- 
part, namely, the worship through social fellowship 
and interchange of Christian experiences, and the 
practice of the priesthood of all believers in the 
public praying and speaking of laymen. Finally, 
Protestant worship, in its effort to express and 
arouse individual faith, rests on the fundamental 
Protestant emphasis of faith and upon the democ- 
racy of religious experience, while Romanist wor- 
ship rests upon the assumption of a divinely ap- 
pointed ecclesiastical institution which is the sole 
channel of divine grace. 

It is not surprising, therefore, that Protestantism 
and Romanism differ in their views of the neces- 
sity of church attendance. Romanism requires, as 
absolutely necessary, attendance upon mass at least 
once a year. Coppens declares that the first com- 
mandment of the church is " to hear Mass on Sun- 
days and holy days of obligation." He argues in 
a legalistic way that this commandment takes the 
place of that one of the Ten Commandments of 
the Mosaic code which says, " Remember the sab- 
bath day to keep it holy." The Romanist goes to 
church, therefore, first of all because it is legally 
required by the church and not voluntarily for the 
purpose of personal, inner communion with God 
and of deepening faith and fellowship with God 
the Father. Mere attendance on the mass, with or 



134 Positive Protestantism 

without an inner attitude of faith or seeking of 
God, secures divine grace for the removal of guilt 
and eternal punishment of sin and for strengthening 
the moral life. 

Protestants also think of church attendance as a 
duty and a privilege, but without the legalism and 
externalism of Romanism. One who has real faith 
will recognize the duty of maintaining public wor- 
ship and the whole work of the church, which is 
the institution under God's guidance to give re- 
ligious and moral instruction, to inspire Christian 
life, and to bring in the kingdom of God. True 
faith will also feel the need of the public worship 
which nourishes individual Christian life. A man 
cannot be as good a Christian without as with the 
aid which the church alone can give. But one's 
relations to the church in all its functions must be 
voluntary. The good received depends upon the 
responsive faith of each one who associates himself 
with the church. A true Protestant will believe that 
the religious help received by Romanists by their 
attendance upon church depends likewise on the 
inner attitude of the attendants. 

As to alleged smaller attendance of Protestants, 
it would be possible to reply that Romanist atten- 
dance is so much due to the desire to meet the mere 
external demand of the legal requirement that it 
does not amount to so much spiritually as the more 
voluntary attendance upon Protestant churches, 
which is based on the impulsion of inner faith. 



Worship and Freedom 135 

Besides, the favorable estimate as to Romanist at- 
tendance is based upon the surface consideration of 
the comparatively crowded condition of the Roman- 
ist churches on Sundays. This consideration does 
not take into account the difference in policy fol- 
lowed by Protestant and Romanist churches in re- 
gard to the supplying of seating capacity. Accord- 
ing to the United States Census of 1906, the last of 
its kind to date, Protestant churches have over twice 
as many seats as communicants, while Romanist 
churches have nearly three times as many com- 
municants as seats. Consequently, for Protestant 
churches to be as crowded as Romanist churches, it 
would be necessary for Protestants to be 6.39 times 
as numerous as they are now. Thus it may be 
shown that Protestants can have nearly five and 
one-half seats empty to one filled and still have 
relatively as many people coming to church at any 
one time as the Romanists. This consideration is 
quite sufficient to explain the seeming disparity be- 
tween the church attendance of Protestants and 
Romanists. 

However, though the disparagement of Protestant 
loyalty in this discussion makes necessary such a 
statement as the foregoing, it is regrettable, if 
brotherliness between Protestants and Romanists is 
to be cultivated, that such innuendoes, aimed at the 
sincerity of people in either communion, should be 
made. No group of Christians has a monopoly 
of goodness and loyalty to Christ and none is free 

K 



136 Positive Protestantism 

from the shallow, ignorant, half-hearted examples 
of people of little faith. It is only ignorance or 
bigoted prejudice that attempts to cast aspersions 
upon the sincerity of the bulk of the people or to 
underestimate the piety and religious accomplish- 
ments in either communion. It would be well for 
our land if Protestants and Romanists, while loyal 
respectively to their own convictions and teaching 
them freely, would nevertheless attempt to under- 
stand their essential differences and common beliefs, 
agree to disagree about the things upon which agree- 
ment is impossible, and live together in peace and 
mutual respect. The very principles of Protestants 
require them to take this attitude, to allow their 
cause to stand or fall on its merits, and to have no 
fear of the outcome. Whether this is possible for 
Romanism with its exclusive system Protestants will 
have to leave to Romanists and their teachers and 
to the judgment of the unbiased. 

The attitude just referred to is the fruit of Prot- 
estant freedom, which has had several important 
issues. One of these is religious liberty, which is 
so characteristic of American Christianity and which 
has constituted a marked contribution of the United 
States to the world. Against religious liberty the 
authoritative teaching of Romanism is unequivocal, 
though some Romanists in this country seem re- 
luctant to accept this teaching. Gregory XVI, in 
his pastoral letter of 1832. exhorts to the conflict 
with indifference, and designates as such the idea 



Worship and Freedom 137 

that salvation can be had outside of a right relation 
to the pope: " From this unclean spring of indiffer- 
ence there flows that idea, or rather that madness, 
that every one is to be accorded liberty of con- 
science. This destructive illusion is the result of 
that profitless freedom of ideas, which extends its 
ravages in all directions to the ruin of the State and 
the Church, while some have the shamelessness to 
say that some benefit results from it to religion. . . 
For it is a familiar fact in the experience of all 
nations that the most flourishing states have come 
to ruin through this one evil, through the im- 
moderate freedom of ideas, through the license ac- 
corded to public utterances, through the inordinate 
desire for novelties. To this also appertains what 
cannot be sufficiently reprobated, the freedom of the 
press, which some venture to demand/' Pius IX 
went even further in his denunciations of religious 
liberty, demanding that freedom of worship, of 
conscience and thought be done away, that the 
church be allowed to control individuals in these 
spheres, and that all matters of marriage be turned 
over to the church. He was artless enough to ex- 
pect that the world would turn back to such doc- 
trine. Leo XIII, in his encyclical letter of June 
20, 1888, said, " It is in no wise permitted to de- 
mand, defend, or grant liberty of thought, or of 
the press, or of teaching, or of religion. " 2 

2 For Cardinal Gibbons' attitude toward religious liberty, see larger 
edition, Appendix, Note 24. 



138 Positive Protestantism 

In view of the Romanist teaching, therefore, and 
also in view of the actual facts in the case, it is 
almost unbelievable that Cardinal Gibbons has 
claimed that the Roman Catholic colony of Mary- 
land was the first to establish religious liberty and 
thus implied that we owe this precious possession 
to Rome. 3 The true state of the case as to the 
establishment of religious liberty in this country is 
set forth by L. W. Bacon, a Congregationalist. He 
says: 4 " In the establishment of the American prin- 
ciple of the non-interference of the state with re- 
ligion, and the equality of all religious communions 
before the law, much was due, no doubt, to the 
mutual jealousies of the sects, no one or two of 
which were strong enough to maintain exceptional 
pretensions over the rest. . . So far as this work 
was a work of intelligent conviction and religious 
faith, the chief honor must be given to the Baptists. 
Other sects, notably the Presbyterians, had been 
energetic and efficient in demanding their own liber- 
ties ; the Friends and Baptists agreed in demanding 
liberty of conscience and worship, and equality be- 
fore the law, for all alike. But the active labor in 
this cause was mainly done by the Baptists. It is 
to their consistency and constancy in the war- 
fare against the privileges of the powerful ' Stand- 
ing Order ' of New England, and of the moribund 
establishments of the South, that we are chiefly 

3 See larger edition for a brief statement of the situation, Appen- 
dix, Note 24. 

4 " History of American Christianity," p. 221. 



Worship and Freedom 139 

indebted for the final triumph, in this country, of 
that principle of the separation of Church and State 
which is one of the largest contributions of the New 
World to civilization and to the church universal. ,, 
As the historian Bancroft has said, Roger Williams, 
a Baptist, " was the first person in Christendom to 
establish civil government on the doctrine of liberty 
of conscience. ,, In this view Bancroft is followed 
by practically all accredited historians. 

From the foregoing it is easy to surmise that 
Protestantism has not in all its branches been in 
accord with full religious liberty and the accom- 
panying necessity of separation of Church and State. 
In the earliest developments, Lutheranism and the 
Reformed churches apparently could not conceive 
of any relation between Church and State except 
that of union, and they would not allow liberty of 
conscience. But in this country to-day practically 
all Protestants would advocate religious liberty and 
separation of Church and State. From America 
the influence of this position has gone to establish 
a measure of religious liberty, if not to disestab- 
lish state churches among Protestants and others 
throughout the world. 5 American Protestantism 
has thus presented the world with its finest spir- 
itual treasure, religious liberty. 

The spirit of freedom in Protestantism has also 
manifested itself in Protestant democracy. This has 
affected the form of government employed by eccle- 

8 Compare Troeltsch, " Protestantism and Progress." 



140 Positive Protestantism 

siastical organizations. The voice of the people is 
effective in a very large measure in most Protestant 
denominations. Many have strictly congregational 
forms of government in which the voice of the 
people is the final appeal. 

This is in direct contrast to the Roman hierarchy. 
It is an absolute monarchy, with the final authority 
inhering in the pope, from whom it comes down to 
the humblest subject, from whom is demanded abso- 
lute submission. The pope is elected by the col- 
lege of cardinals, who have previously been ap- 
pointed by popes. He is in no sense answerable to 
the people, nor are any of the other members of 
the hierarchy. The fact that priests are usually re- 
cruited from the ranks of the common people does 
not make the Roman Church a democracy as is 
sometimes claimed, for they are not elected, selected, 
or rejected by the people. That some Romanists de- 
scribe their church as precisely similar to our free, 
democratic republic would seem impossible. The 
people can control our country, but in Romanism 
they have no control or appreciable influence over 
the hierarchy. This hierarchy could not possibly 
be farther from a democratic form of government. 

Moreover, Rome is not only an ecclesiastical abso- 
lute monarchy. It claims also to be a political gov- 
ernment, requiring a temporal kingdom, and also 

c It is claimed that the pope should be a temporal ruler and actual 
king. The papal states have now been finally taken from him by a 
united Italy. The pope remains a voluntary prisoner in the Vatican 
because the Roman Curia holds that he must not come out until his 
kingdom is restored to him. 



Worship and Freedom 141 

exercising supreme authority over all other political 
governments. For this latter conception the famous 
bull of Boniface VIII (Unam Sanctam) is au- 
thority: " Therefore, if the earthly power deviates 
from the way, it shall be judged by the spiritual 
power; if the inferior spiritual power, by its supe- 
rior spiritual power. . . Whoever resists this power, 
thus ordained by God, resists the ordination of 
God. . . Then, to be subject to the Roman pontiff 
we declare, say, define, and pronounce to be abso- 
lutely necessary to every human creature to sal- 
vation. " This ancient dogma has been confirmed 
in modern times by the Syllabus of Errors of 
Pius IX, which not only condemned religious liberty, 
but declared the ecclesiastical law to be supreme 
over civil law. The Romanist ideal is that the pope 
should control the world through the officials of 
various states who must be subject to him. Coppens 
says (p. 106) : " The two societies, the Church and 
the State, can help each other by their corporate 
action. If their views should differ, the higher 
and wider society should prevail. Besides, Cath- 
olic governors owe deference to the church whose 
members they are." It is only because the papacy 
lacks the physical forces and because it cannot suc- 
cessfully appeal to peoples against their respective 
governments to do the will of the hierarchy, that 
the papal ideal of spiritual supremacy over the 
various governments of the world fails of its real- 
ization. 



14- Positive Protestantism 

Plainly this ideal is significant for understanding 
the relation of Romanism to political democracy. 
Inevitably the absolutism of the Romanist hier- 
archy, just because of its constitution, is antago- 
nistic to the sovereignty of the people and their 
democratic aspirations in any sphere, though some 
Romanists who have come under the influence of 
modern democracy do not seem able to see this. 7 
The success of the Protestant Reformation made 
possible the struggle for religious liberty, and 
greatly augmented the already advanced tendency 
to political liberty and the breaking down of the 
political supremacy of the papacy. The two-sided 
struggle has since gone on hand in hand, and with 
reference to it Rome has ever been against the 
liberties of the people, as is plainly shown by the 
papal declarations quoted above, which condemn 
so completely the principles and rights of freedom. 
On the other hand, the principles of Protestantism 
have ever been harmonious with freedom, and it 
is a notable fact that Protestantism has had con- 
siderable to do with the development of modern 
states. 

Just as plain as this situation in regard to political 
democracy are the respective positions of Protes- 
tantism and Romanism toward freedom in two 
other spheres. One of these is the sphere of the 
freedom of speech and the press. Already the 

7 For Rome's past attitude to democracy, see larger edition, Appen- 
dix, Note 25. 



Worship and Freedom 143 

quotations of papal declarations made above, which 
are strongly corroborated by the existence of the 
Index, have shown how completely official Rome is 
against these two liberties which are twin children 
and at the same time twin conservers of freedom. 
Protestant advocates of religious liberty, not to 
speak of political freedom, have consistently pleaded 
for these twins, and that is exactly what the logic 
of the Protestant principles requires just as the 
essential contentions of Romanism compel opposi- 
tion to a free press and to free speech. 

Also in the sphere of learning, research, and 
education Rome stands in the way of freedom. 
Biblical scholarship, theological science, and non- 
theological science in all matters affecting Roman 
teaching must submit to the teaching office of the 
church. 8 The Congregation of the Index is always 
ready to exercise its function of condemning pub- 
lications which set forth unwelcome positions, and 
bishops everywhere have the authority to forbid the 
reading of anti-Romanist books not important enough 
to send to the Congregation. It is a strange and strik- 
ing fact illustrative of Rome's intolerance of free 
scientific research that from A. D. 1616 onward the 
writings of Copernicus (and Galileo) were on the 
Index, " since Copernicus' system of the universe is 
altogether contradictory to the Sacred Writings and 
destructive of Catholic truth." The embarrassment 
which such an attitude brings to an unchangeable 

8 See larger edition, Appendix, Note 2o f 



144 Positive Protestantism 

church is illustrated in the fact that from the im- 
pression of the Index issued in 1835 these prohibi- 
tions silently disappeared and have not since been 
included, very ostensibly because no well-informed 
person any longer has doubted the truth of the 
Copernican theory, also espoused by Galileo. The 
attack made so recently by Pius X upon " Modern- 
ism " is a clear indication of where Rome stands 
as to freedom of research and learning. The con- 
trasted attitude of Protestantism, which has made 
freedom possible and which has in no small measure 
cultivated it, needs no elaboration. 

The attitude of Rome toward freedom in educa- 
tion is well known. Rome cannot escape the im- 
plications as to her lack of interest in educating 
the common people which lie in the conditions of 
illiteracy of those countries where her hierarchy 
has had full sway for a long time. But it is not 
to this situation chiefly that we now refer, but 
rather to her attitude toward free education in this 
country, and especially her hostility to the public 
school in all its divisions from primary school to 
university. Coppens says, " It is distinctly taught 
in the syllabus of Pius IX that Catholics cannot 
approve of a system of education which is severed 
from the Catholic faith and from the power of 
the church, and which regards only or primarily 
natural knowledge and social life." Thus Roman- 
ism is declared to be inherently and inevitably op- 
posed to our free-school system, and it is not sur- 



Worship and Freedom 145 

prising that her priests use ecclesiastical pressure 
to overcome the preference of Romanist parents 
for the public school which has meant already so 
much for the liberties and prosperity of our nation. 
What is surprising is that sensible people should 
yield their judgment as to the better education 
for their children and choose to send them else- 
where than to this thoroughly American institution 
simply because of the decree of an ecclesiastical 
power, and that too a power whose central location 
is on foreign territory and whose control is in the 
hands of men of a foreign nation who cannot pos- 
sibly sympathize with our institutions, even if they 
could by diligent inquiry really understand them. 
This attitude of Romanism has led Romanists to 
strive to secure from public funds appropriations 
for their educational institutions, not to mention the 
situation with reference to other kinds of activity. 
This effort, which has not only been proposed, but 
actually carried out in demands for legislative ac- 
tion, as, for example, in Rhode Island, is logical 
enough for Romanists, but absolutely opposed to 
the established American principle of separation of 
Church and State, and consequently reveals how 
inherently antagonistic Romanism is to American 
ideals of freedom and democracy. Protestants, 
though maintaining at their own expense, and in 
larger and more effective measure than Romanism, 
their own schools for higher education, stand with- 
out exception for the free-school system. 



146 Positive Protestantism 

If Protestantism had contributed no more than 
these various elements of modern freedom which 
can justly be accredited to it, its superiority to 
Romanism and its permanent worth to the world 
would be proved. 

Quiz 

1. What is the main part of Romanist worship? 
2. What are the important elements of Protestant 
worship? 3. What are the contrasted reasons of 
Protestants and Romanists for church attendance? 
4. What is the explanation of the apparently greater 
attendance of Romanists upon church services? 5. 
What is the proper mutual attitude of Protestants 
and Romanists? 6. What is the official attitude of 
Romanism toward freedom? 7. To whom is chief 
credit due in the accomplishment of religious liberty 
in this country? 8. How has freedom affected re- 
spectively the church governments of Protestants 
and Romanists? 9. What have been the relations 
of Romanism and of Protestantism to the achieve- 
ment of political liberty and democracy? 10. What 
have been the attitudes of Romanism and of Prot- 
estantism toward freedom of the press, of speech, 
and of learning? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. Can Protestants take practically the same atti- 
tude toward worship as do Romanists ? 2. On what 
do you depend for spiritual benefit from public 



Worship and Freedom 147 

worship? 3. The spiritual benefit from public wor- 
ship which is not possible for those who do not 
attend church. 4. Romanists who believe in the 
modern and American ideas of freedom in spite 
of the teaching of their church. 5. The reason why 
freedom and what it involves is in greater favor 
with some Romanists in America than with Roman 
officialdom and Romanists in other countries. 6. 
The espousal by individual Romanists even in great 
number of freedom and certain more liberal atti- 
tudes in relation to the official position of the church. 
7. Does the service rendered by individuals toward 
the accomplishment of liberty in this country change 
the official teaching of Romanism? 



Pan tt 
Che Present Protestant Situation 



CHAPTER X 

THE DIVISIONS OF PROTESTANTISM 

It is a most difficult task to set forth adequately the 
significance of the several Protestant denominations. 
When members of the same denomination differ 
among themselves as to the significance of their 
body, it is inevitable that the statements of an out- 
sider will be liable to the charge of inadequacy, if 
not of inaccuracy. A brief general statement such 
as this must leave out many modifying considera- 
tions, and so will be open to the charge of in- 
completeness. Yet it is possible to make a statement 
with reference to the nature and extent of the divi- 
sions of Protestantism which will be sufficiently ac- 
curate and adequate for a broad view and for under- 
standing why the divisions exist. 

It is primary and fundamental in understanding 
Protestant denominationalism to recognize that de- 
nominational division is not so overwhelmingly sig- 
nificant to Protestants as division must be to Ro- 
manism. The breadth of the foundation principles 
of Protestantism is so great that a single creed or 
a single ecclesiastical organization is not a necessity. 
The question, therefore, is not so pressing as that 
of the factions of Romanism is for Romanists. 

l 151 



152 Positive Protestantism 

But even so, why are there so many divisions of 
Protestantism? According to the United States 
Census Report of 1906, there were in this country 
one hundred and eighty-eight different religious or- 
ganizations. But the mere statement of this fact 
does the gravest injustice to the real situation if the 
implication is drawn from it that each of these dif- 
ferent organizations is of entirely separate and an- 
tagonistic religious significance. It is also a mis- 
take to suppose that all of these are Protestant 
bodies. 

Among those not Protestant are the several Cath- 
olic bodies. The Roman Catholic Church is included 
in the number mentioned, as are also two compara- 
tively recent schismatic offshoots of Romanism, 
namely, the Reformed Catholic Church and the 
Polish National Church. There are also several 
bodies representing the Oriental Catholic Churches 
of Russia, Greece, Serbia, Syria, and Armenia. In 
addition to the Catholic bodies, but far removed 
from them in significance, are the groups popularly 
known as Mormons, who can scarcely be regarded 
as Protestants, and of whom there are two bodies, 
one of which is by profession at least Christian. 
Other non-Protestant groups are the Spiritualists 
and Christian Scientists. Outside of Christianity 
altogether are the Chinese and Japanese temples, the 
Jews, the Theosophists, the Bahais, the Vedanta So- 
ciety, and the Ethical Culturists, all of which groups 
receive separate count in the census report. Thus 



The Divisions of Protestantism 1 53 

the number of organizations referred to must be 
considerably reduced before the Protestants are 
reached at all. 

A still further reduction is necessary to do justice 
to the actual significance of Protestantism. Inter- 
related groups form single families of denomina- 
tions. These families have internal agreement 
among their several members in the most essential 
significance of the group. In each, one or two 
branches have nearly all the numerical strength, and 
are surrounded by a number of small bodies that 
are only faint eddies in the family current which, 
with other such currents, goes to make up the 
stream of Protestantism. The family members are 
sometimes related as parent and offshoot, and some- 
times are bound by common principles and practices 
though springing from different or common parent- 
age. A common name is sometimes evidence of mem- 
bership in a family, but in certain instances family 
connection is closer without a common title. For 
example, there is less difference in essential sig- 
nificance between Disciples of Christ and Baptists 
than between the Methodist Episcopal Church and 
the Methodist Protestant Church; and the Welsh 
Calvinistic Methodists, in spite of their name, are 
more nearly Presbyterian than Methodist and tend 
to fraternize with Presbyterian bodies. The best 
basis on which to relate the several denominations 
is that of historical origin and essential significance. 
On this basis in some instances relation may be 



154 Positive Protestantism 

established in more than one direction, but upon it 
at least a general view of the most significant cur- 
rents of Protestantism can be secured. 

Nearly all of the Protestant denominations can 
be related directly or indirectly to the three great 
divisions of the Protestant Reformation movement. 
Naturally, Lutherans are considered first. 

There are in this country twenty-four different 
Lutheran organizations. 1 All of these, however, 
have quite the same general Protestant significance, 
and there is no reason for counting some of the 
divisions separately in any sense. All agree in the 
cardinal teaching of justification by faith. The 
sacraments of the church are channels of grace, 
but transubstantiation is repudiated. Infant bap- 
tism is practised. With reference to the sacra- 
ments, Lutherans are nearer to Romanism than 
other Protestants and, excepting in a measure some 
less rigid branches, tend more to accord with 
medieval religion. Indications of the tendency are 
to be seen in the liturgy and in the observance 
:hurch festivals. As to church government, 
Lutherans in this country have been theoretically 
congregational, but in the application of the theory 

1 See United States Census Report for 1906, which is the source 
of the much other information given. Compare also 

H. K. Carroll and Chas. S. MacFarland. The membership is given in 
order to convey in a general way the relative numerical strength of 
the various denomina: For such a relative showing the census 

report is the latest and most reliable source, though it is to be re- 
membered that in the las: each of the denominations 
has grown, yet n 7:t their mutual relations in an; 
siderable degree. Mention of some of the smaller n the 
several groups is omitted because they lack any essential significance 
for our purpose. 



The Divisions of Protestantism 155 

they have developed in some of their organizations 
what is nearly, if not quite, a presbyterian form of 
government, and in some others have drifted into 
the recognition practically, if not ecclesiastically, of 
a bishopric. 2 

Organized divisions among Lutherans are due to 
several causes, namely, the difference in church 
government just referred to; the opposition of con- 
servative and liberal forces; the difference of lan- 
guage and national affiliations due to the various 
sources of Lutheran immigration to this country; 
and the sectional questions connected with the 
Civil War. The General Synod of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church in the United States of America 
(membership 270,221) is the most liberal of all 
branches, excepting one small body, and most easily 
fraternizes with other Protestant denominations. It 
allows ministers of other denominations on occa- 
sion to occupy its pulpits and grants members of 
other denominations the privilege of participation 
in the Lord's Supper. The General Council of 
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America 
(membership 462,177) was formed by the with- 
drawal of large numbers from the General Synod 
because of the latter's liberality. " Lutheran pulpits 
are for Lutheran ministers only, and Lutheran altars 
are for Lutheran communicants only, and excep- 
tions to the rule belong to the sphere of privilege 
not of right " was the final position of the General 

3 See II. K. Carroll, pp. 48f. 



156 Positive Protestantism 

Council, which also took an attitude strongly op- 
posed to secret societies. This body is less Angli- 
cized than the General Synod and less German than 
the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference 
(membership 648,529), which is the most conserva- 
tive and adheres most rigidly to the historic 
Lutheran confessions of faith. These three include 
two-thirds of the Lutherans in this country. The 
other third is scattered among a number of smaller 
bodies, a few of which have considerable numerical 
strength, and these maintain separate organizations 
chiefly* on national and geographical grounds. 3 

Besides the bodies which bear the name of Luther, 
there are three others directly connected with 
Lutherans : the German Evangelical Synod of North 
America (membership 293,197), which represents 
the state church resulting from a union of Lutheran 
and German Reformed churches in Prussia ; and two 
small bodies representing a revival movement in 
Sweden, where the state church is Lutheran, the 
Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant (member- 
ship 20,760) and the Swedish Evangelical Free Mis- 
sion (membership 6,952).* 

The Reformed movement, the second great stream 
of the Reformation, is represented in this country 
most directly by four bodies whose names include 
the word " Reformed " and by the Presbyterians. 

3 See United States Census Report. 

* According to the above grouping, including unmentioned smaller 
bodies, the Lutheran family had a membership in 1906 of 2,359,277. 



The Divisions of Protestantism 157 

All of these are Calvinistic in theology, and give the 
characteristic emphasis of that system to the doc- 
trines of the sovereignty of God and his decrees 
concerning the salvation of men. All likewise have 
practically the same presbyterian form of church 
government. 

The [Dutch] Reformed Church in America 
(membership 124,938) represents the Reformed 
Church of Holland, adheres to the Heidelberg 
Catechism, and is composed chiefly of the Dutch 
and their descendants. The [German] Reformed 
Church in the United States (membership 292,654) 
uses the same catechism and has the same form of 
government, but is composed of Germans and their 
descendants. The Christian Reformed Church 
(membership 26,669) represents a body of the same 
name in Holland and holds a modified form of 
Calvinism. The Hungarian Reformed Church 
(membership 5,253) is like the others except in point 
of nationality, and in that it is connected officially 
with the national church of Hungary. 

The Presbyterians are the most numerous and 
perhaps the most influential representatives in this 
country of the Reformed movement. They came 
hither originally from Scotland, England, and Ire- 
land. There are twelve divisions. The chief 
strength is in one body, the Presbyterian Church in 
the United States of America (membership 1,179,- 
566), which, like all other Presbyterian groups, 
holds to the Westminster Confession and the pres- 



158 Positive Protestantism 

byterian form of church government. The Cum- 
berland Presbyterians (membership 195,770) came 
into separate existence in the early part of the last 
century, after a great religious revival in Tennessee 
and Kentucky, as the result of a controversy con- 
cerning the licensing of preachers to take care of 
the new converts, though these preachers had not 
been as fully educated as the high standards of 
Presbyterians required. The Presbyterian Church 
in the United States (membership 266,345) is the 
conservative Southern body which separated on ac- 
count of the Civil War. It includes most of the 
Presbyterians who live in the South, though the 
Northern Presbyterians have some churches there, 
especially among the Negroes. The Welsh Cal- 
vinistic Methodists (membership 13,280) originated 
from the work in Wales of Wesley and Whitefield, 
the latter of whom was a Calvinist, and are really 
presbyterian in belief and church government. The 
United Presbyterians (membership 130,342) differ 
from the others chiefly in their opposition to secret 
societies, in forbidding the privilege of communion 
to those who do not agree with their church's posi- 
tion, and in insisting that only psalms, and no 
hymns written by uninspired writers, shall be sung 
in the church services. Four distinct, but very small 
bodies of Reformed Presbyterians (aggregate mem- 
bership 10,199) agree with other Presbyterians as 
to the Westminster Confession and the form of 
church government, with the United Presbyterians 



The Divisions of Protestantism 159 

in their opposition to secret societies and the use of 
hymns, and with one another as to the unrighteous- 
ness of instrumental music in the church and as to 
opposition to any political government which does 
not recognize Christ as head ; and they differ among 
themselves as to the practical measures to take in 
securing the recognition of Christ by the govern- 
ment, some of them refusing to vote. All Pres- 
byterians baptize infants and use affusion or sprin- 
kling as the mode. They have always laid a strong 
emphasis on doctrinal matters, yet among them 
to-day are some of the strongest advocates of 
cooperation among various Protestant bodies. 

Still another representative of the Reformed 
movement is the Congregational denomination 
(membership 700,480). Toward the end of the six- 
teenth century a small body of Calvinists in England 
became an independent church, emphasizing in con- 
trast to the Anglican Church, from which it broke 
away, the principle of democratic church govern- 
ment which had been advocated by the Anabaptists. 
This body had to flee to Holland, and thence came 
to this country as the Pilgrims in 1620. Later, 
when the Puritans or extreme Calvinist party in 
the Church of England failed to overturn the An- 
glican polity and were forced out of the church, 
some were absorbed by various independent 
churches in England, and some came to this country. 
In New England the Puritans and Pilgrims estab- 
lished the church which has become the Congre- 



160 Positive Protestantism 

gational denomination. The relations between this 
body and the Presbyterians have been fairly close, 
and at one time in the early part of the last cen- 
tury there was a working agreement as to terri- 
torial division. The Congregationalists have been 
especially responsive to modern liberal Protestant 
conceptions, and have largely ceased to be the ex- 
ponents of any theological system such as Calvin- 
ism. Sprinkling and infant baptism are practised. 
The one preeminently distinguishing mark of the 
body is its form of church government according 
to which the local church is free to act in all its 
concerns without interference from ecclesiastical 
authority. 5 Associations and councils are advisory 
only. 

The Anglican Church was connected historically 
with the Calvinistic movement, yet finally remained 
distinct from it. 6 Its counterpart in this country 
is the Protestant Episcopal Church (membership 
886,942), whose emphasis upon medieval ecclesi- 
astical piety is greater than that of any other 
body affected by the Reformed movement, and 
whose church government is more exclusive and 
medieval than even that of the Lutherans. While 
this body includes some of the most liberal theo- 
logical scholars, the canons of the church are very 

5 In view of the present emphasis of the Congregationalists. and 
since they have ceased to be distinctly Calvinistic, it might be logical 
to classify them with the Anabaptist group. If they are retained, 
the whole number of members in the Reformed family is 2,976,753. 

6 See larger edition, Part I, Chap. III. 



The Divisions of Protestantism 161 

exclusive, ecclesiastically speaking, and the High 
Church Party seeks to dominate the church with 
the strictest sacramentarian medievalism. The Epis- 
copal Church is undoubtedly among Protestants the 
church of reverence for historical continuity in re- 
ligious practices, of ecclesiasticism in religion, and 
of ritualism in worship. Like the medieval church, 
it has three orders of ministers — deacons, priests, 
and bishops. It claims historical apostolic suc- 
cession, which it admits is also possessed by the 
Roman and Oriental Catholic Churches, but by 
no others. No ministers are really such unless or- 
dained by a bishop in this succession, so that no 
minister of any other communion is allowed to 
speak in an Episcopalian pulpit without special per- 
mission from the bishop of the diocese in which the 
pulpit is located. Even this permission has been 
canonically legal only in recent years. A quite 
famous Baptist minister was recently refused per- 
mission to address from an Episcopalian pulpit a 
meeting to be held in the interest of church union, 
because he did not believe in infant baptism, and 
another meeting-place had to be secured which 
was under less restricted ecclesiastical affiliations. 7 
In grouping the modern representatives of the 
Anabaptist movement and its pre-Reformation 
forerunners, three distinct kinds of connection are 

7 In 1873 the Protestant Episcopal Church split over the question 
of communing with members of other denominations, and the seceding 
body is known as the Reformed Episcopal Church (membership 
9,683), and has espoused the more evangelical positions of Frotes- 
tants. 



1 62 Positive Protestantism 

to be pointed out. Several bodies may be traced 
by direct historical continuity to the Anabaptists. 
Others have sprung directly or indirectly from 
these descendent groups. Still others have had an 
independent origin, but are to be connected here 
because they emphasize some one or more of the 
Anabaptist tenets. 

The two oldest of the denominations in this 
family, in our country, are the Moravian Brethren 
(membership 17,155) and the Evangelical Union of 
Bohemian and Moravian Brethren (membership 
771), whose history in both cases can be traced 
back five hundred years to the influence of John 
Hus, the Bohemian martyr. Their beliefs and 
practices before the Reformation were distinctly 
Anabaptist. 8 To-day they have principles some- 
what like those of the Mennonites and modern 
Baptists, but practices more like those of other 
denominations. The Moravians are noted for their 
missionary activities. 

A second group to be traced directly to the Ana- 
baptists are the Mennonites. After the fierce per- 
secutions of the Anabaptists of Holland and ad- 
jacent regions had begun to abate, Menno Simon, 
an Anabaptist leader, traveled from place to place, 
greatly heartening the scattered members of the 
despised sect. The denomination which was thus 
solidified took its name from his, and holds prac- 
tically all of the tenets which were supported by 

8 See A. H. Newman, " A History of Anti-Pedobaptism," pp. 49-54- 



The Divisions of Protestantism 163 

the bulk of the Anabaptists. The Mennonites do 
not baptize infants. They use affusion or sprin- 
kling as the mode of baptism, though some branches 
in this country employ immersion. There are two 
chief and twelve smaller organizations of them. 
The membership (aggregate 54,798) is composed 
chiefly of immigrants, descendants of immigrants, 
and converts made especially among German-speak- 
ing people. The separate existence of the several 
divisions is due in part to differences of nationality, 
but more especially to the relative rigidity em- 
ployed in the respective bodies in executing church 
discipline with reference to various matters. 

By far the most numerous, influential, and im- 
portant group which can be traced directly to the 
Anabaptists is that of the modern Baptists. They 
arose in England probably through the activities 
of Anabaptist missionaries who were refugees from 
continental persecutions. The first known advo- 
cate of Anabaptist principles in America was Roger 
Williams, who came to this land as a clergyman of 
the Church of England, but whose advocacy of Ana- 
baptist principles led to his banishment from Massa- 
chusetts and his founding of Rhode Island, the first 
organized government known to man to be estab- 
lished on the foundation of religious liberty. Others 
of similar beliefs came from abroad, and some in 
the various colonies in this country were convinced 
of the validity of the Anabaptist contentions. Thus 
the Baptists grew slowly. But during the last cen- 



164 Positive Protestantism 

tury they increased three times as fast as the popu- 
lation and came to be one of the numerically great 
denominations. 

The chief emphasis of the Baptists has been 
double. It has been put upon loyalty to the Scrip- 
ture and upon the necessity of carrying the funda- 
mental position of Protestantism toward faith to 
an application beyond that of other denominations. 
This application has concerned church government, 
the relation of the Church and State, and the cere- 
monies of the church. Since individual faith is 
the determining element of religious life, every in- 
dividual Christian is of such worth that he deserves 
a voice and vote in the administering of the local 
church. Also the conscience must be free from in- 
terference either by ecclesiastical authority of bishop 
or legislative council or by civil authority. Con- 
sequently each local church is free of outside con- 
trol and the Church and State must be separate. 
Similarly, the Baptist contention in regard to infant 
baptism and immersion 9 and their view of the 
Lord's Supper 10 emphasize the central place of 
faith. At the same time Baptists hold that the New 
Testament teaching and practice bear out their 
positions. 

Most Baptists in this country and Canada hold to 
what is called " restricted " communion ; not, how- 
ever, on the basis of some bodies who believe that 

B See above, pp. 43-47. 
10 See above, pp. 56f. 



The Divisions of Protestantism 165 

they have the one and only way to God, but simply 
because Baptists think that baptism should precede 
participation in the Lord's Supper — so far all Chris- 
tians agree — and since the immersion of believers is 
the only proper Christian baptism, persons not thus 
baptized should not partake of the Lord's Supper. 
But both in this country and in other lands there 
are many Baptist individuals and Baptist churches 
which do not thus hold. Adherence to " restricted " 
communion is not. universally made a test of de- 
nominational fellowship. There is a noticeable ten- 
dency in this country, especially among the Baptists 
of the Northern half, away from the " restricted " 
view. There are also a few Baptist churches in 
this country which have in their membership a 
few unimmersed persons received by letter from 
churches of other denominations. 

There are several bodies of Baptists, of which 
by far the most numerous are the Regular Bap- 
tists (membership 5,323,183) so called to distin- 
guish them from other groups. The classification 
by H. K. Carroll, and to a less degree, the United 
States Census, implies that the Regular Baptists are 
subdivided into several distinct bodies. The white 
churches are organized for united efforts in two 
conventions, the Southern Baptist Convention and 
the Northern Baptist Convention, and the Negro 
Baptists have several organizations. But these or- 
ganizations are separated only for purposes of ef- 
ficiency and not because they are in any sense sepa- 



166 Positive Protestantism 

rate denominations. Before the formation of the 
Northern Baptist Convention the united endeavors 
of the constituent churches were carried on by 
numerous Societies, one of which, the Publication 
Society, served churches both North and South, and 
all of which are now in affiliation with the Northern 
Baptist Convention. There is to-day no such divi- 
sion between the Baptists of the North and South 
as exists between the Methodist Episcopal Church 
and the Methodist Episcopal Church South, which 
have rival churches in the same communities. There 
is not even a clear mark of distinction between 
white and colored Baptists, for there are many 
Negro members of white Baptist churches, and 
there are churches composed entirely of Negroes 
which are affiliated with district associations com- 
posed almost entirely of white churches. Such 
Negroes are counted in the statistics of the North- 
ern Convention. At the same time some of these 
same Negro churches are also connected with the 
general national organizations whose members are 
exclusively Negroes. It is plain, therefore, that 
the Regular Baptists are a single denomination, 
though they are variously and perhaps, to an out- 
sider, confusedly organized. Baptists themselves 
think only of the unity of all Baptists, North, South, 
white, and colored. 

There are several smaller distinct bodies of Bap- 
tists. Free Baptists now are as completely amal- 
gamated with Regular Baptists as any two such 



The Divisions of Protestantism 167 

democratic bodies can be. The Free Baptists (mem- 
bership 81,359) should therefore really be counted 
with Regular Baptists, through whose agencies they 
now carry on their chief denominational work. 
They send representatives to the Northern Baptist 
Convention and other Regular Baptist organiza- 
tions. Quite distinct are the " Primitive/' or " Old- 
school, " or " Antimissionary " Baptists, sometimes 
nicknamed " Hard-shell" Baptists (membership 
102,311). They are rigidly and extremely Cal- 
vinistic in theology, and are opposed to Sunday 
Schools and missionary and Bible societies. They 
are found chiefly in the South, where they have a 
considerable measure of success. The remaining 
seven small bodies aggregate about the same num- 
bers as the Antimissionary Baptists. It is plain 
therefore that about ninety-seven per cent of the 
Baptists are Regular. 

The Moravians, Mennonites, and Baptists are 
direct descendants of the Anabaptists. Outside of 
these are certain bodies which stand for almost 
the same thing as Baptists. Quite markedly related 
to Baptists are those people who forwarded dur- 
ing the nineteenth century several movements for 
church union by urging a return to the New Tes- 
tament standard of church life. The body known 
as Disciples of Christ (membership 982,701) re- 
sulted from a movement led by Thomas and 
Alexander Campbell. These men had been Pres- 
byterian, became Baptist, and then later drew a 

M 



1 68 Positive Protestantism 

number of Baptist churches, on the basis of church 
union and the legal necessity of baptism ior the 
remission of sins, into a new denomination which, 
however, refuses to regard itself as a denomination. 
A similar movement had started in another part 
of the country partly under Baptist leadership, 
and these people called their churches " Christian/' 
Some of these churches joined in with the Dis- 
ciples' movement, but those not so joining are known 
as the Christian Connection (membership 110,117). 
The titles used by these churches are further con- 
fused by the fact that some churches originally 
wholly identified with the Disciples' movement, but 
which now are not so closely allied, call themselves 
the Churches of Christ (membership 159,658). 
They are opposed to missionary and publication 
organizations of the Disciples. The Churches of 
God in North America (membership 24,356) orig- 
inated with the German Reformed people of Mary- 
land, but stand for practically the same positions as 
Disciples, except that they have a presbyterian form 
of government. All of these groups are very similar 
to the Baptists, except that they make a special 
point of church union on their peculiar platform. 
Disciples have sometimes been called " Campbel- 
lite " Baptists. 

Almost as close to the Baptists as Disciples are 
the Adventists. In the Reformation period not a 
few Anabaptists believed in the immediate or early 
coming of Christ and wandered about amid the pos- 



The Divisions of Protestantism 169 

sible vagaries connected with speculation upon this 
subject. The Adventists sprang up under Baptist 
leadership, and have taken a considerable part of 
their numerical strength from Baptist churches. 
The group arose in this country with the Millerite 
movement of the early part of the last century. 
The failure of Christ to appear at the times pre- 
dicted has not prevented the continued existence 
of the Adventist groups, which may fairly be re- 
garded as Baptist with a millennarian emphasis. 
There are several bodies, all of which immerse and 
refuse to baptize infants. The two chief divisions 
are the Seventh Day Adventists (membership 
62,211) and the Advent Christians (membership 
26,799). The former of these legalistically insists 
on the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and 
practises foot-washing in connection with the Lord's 
Supper, while the latter believes in conditional im- 
mortality. There are also four extremely small 
bodies which give especial emphasis to a number of 
different elements of the Old Testament religion. 11 

The third class of denominations belonging in a 
sense to the Anabaptist stream are neither directly 
descended from the Anabaptists of the Reforma- 
tion period nor from any of the direct descendants. 
But they have all espoused some one or more of the 
Anabaptist practices or teachings. 

The " Dunkers," or " Dunka^," or " German 

11 The numerical strength of the Baptistic group is great: direct 
descendants, 5,676,106; related to Baptists, Disciples, and allies, 
1,276,832; and Adventists, 92,735; total, 7,048,673. 



170 Positive Protestantism 

Baptist Brethren," are an example of the third type. 
Originating among Lutherans as a result of the 
pietistic movement in the German churches, which 
came about as a protest against the dead spirit of 
Protestant orthodoxy in Germany in the seven- 
teenth century, the denomination developed its doc- 
trinal conceptions, its church polity, and its prac- 
tices along Anabaptist lines similar to those of the 
Mennonites, Quakers, and other " plain peoples." 
They have no written creeds, but hold to the Scrip- 
tures as sufficient. They baptize by trine immer- 
sion; that is, they submerge three times in suc- 
cession after the manner of the Oriental Catholic 
Church; they practise foot-washing; and they re- 
fuse to baptize infants. Great emphasis is laid upon 
unworldliness ; and plain dressing of a set fashion 
without further adornment is insisted on. Women 
are expected to wear a prayer-covering, or veil, 
during prayer. The form of church government is 
similar to the Presbyterian, but ministers do not 
for the most part receive any salaries. These peo- 
ple came at an early date to our country, but have 
kept themselves socially isolated, and have largely 
retained their original customs and spirit. They 
are almost entirely of German extraction. There 
are four divisions, the main one of which includes 
nearly four-fifths of all Dunkers. The entire group 
(membership 97,144) is more like the modern Men- 
nonites than the modern Baptists and, like the 
former, has its spirit from European sources. 



The Divisions of Protestantism 171 

Another body of Christians arising after the 
Reformation and espousing Anabaptist positions is 
that of the Friends, commonly known as Quak- 
ers. They sprang up in England from much the 
same soil as the Baptists. The quaint costume 
which became the badge of Quakers was borrowed 
from the Baptists of the seventeenth century. The 
Quakers took up the Anabaptist principle of the 
" inner light," or the direct guidance of the Holy 
Spirit of God as the supreme authority for each 
Christian life. So far did they carry the emphasis 
of the internal side of Christian life that they 
denied the necessity or the usefulness of the church 
ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Two 
other Anabaptist principles taken up by the Quak- 
ers were the refusal to take oaths and to hold public 
office and the refusal to fight, with the consequent 
emphasis upon peace. From the Orthodox body 
(membership 91,161) have separated two groups, 
the Hicksite Friends (membership 18,560), who are 
Unitarian in doctrine, and the Wilburite Friends 
(membership 3,380), who insist on "the waiting 
worship " being maintained. 

Somewhat later than the origin of the Quakers 
the Wesleyan movement arose in England. The 
religious life of England had settled down into 
a dead formalism. John Wesley, a minister of the 
Church of England, began even in his university 
days an attempt at the revival of real piety and 
spirituality in that church. He was forced out of 



172 Positive Protestantism 

the church, and as a result we have the bodies which 
are Wesleyan, or Methodist. The name " Method- 
ist " arose as a nickname of reproach. Methodists 
early came to this country, where they have had 
a remarkable growth. The Methodists are Arminian 
in theology, which means that they have always 
emphasized the part which man through his will 
plays in his own religious life more than the part 
of God, which is the point of especial emphasis 
in Calvinism. The Methodist type of religious 
thinking has greatly affected most evangelical Prot- 
estant bodies in this country. 

The Methodists have emphasized, perhaps as no 
other body except the Baptists, the necessity of a 
really converted church-membership, though they 
have not agreed with Baptists in making the rejec- 
tion of infant baptism and the insistence on im- 
mersion a means of urging this necessity. Most 
Methodists practise infant baptism and usually 
sprinkling, but some use immersion, and all groups, 
at least theoretically, permit it. The Lord's Supper 
is observed as a memorial meal with spiritual, but 
not strictly speaking sacramental blessing, though 
the name " sacrament " is used. The relation to 
Anabaptists is far less direct than that of the other 
groups thus far mentioned, but is nevertheless dis- 
tinct. Wesley himself came directly under the in- 
fluence of the Moravian teaching and spirit, and 
his subsequent teaching and religious life showed 
the influence of the contact. If this contact did 



The Divisions of Protestantism 173 

not originate, it at least greatly increased, the em- 
phasis of Methodists on the Anabaptist and pre- 
Reformation idea of the " inner light/' This un- 
doubtedly affected the characteristically Methodist 
doctrine of " sanctification," according to which it 
is possible through the presence of the Holy Spirit 
to attain to " a freedom from sin, from evil desires 
and tempers, and from pride. " The Methodist 
bodies have perhaps more than other Protestants 
undertaken formally to keep the people to a stricter 
conformity in avoidance of certain amusements and 
so-called worldly things, but recently there has 
been a tendency to greater leniency in the applica- 
tion of church discipline in such matters. The 
government of the church has been chiefly in the 
hands of the ministers except in groups like the 
Methodist Protestants. To meet the criticism of 
this situation, the laity, in recent years, have been 
given a somewhat larger place than before in the 
general church organizations of the largest body 
of Methodists. The ministry has but two orders, 
deacons and elders, though the name " bishop " is 
used for the office of the general superintendent, 
who is, nevertheless, of the same ministerial order 
as all other elders. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church (membership 
2,986,154) has its local churches chiefly, though not 
entirely, in the Northern States and quite wholly 
among white people. Early in the last century the 
Negro folk felt they were not being treated justly, 



174 Positive Protestantism 

and withdrew from the main body. Four distinct 
bodies have resulted. 12 The Methodist Protestant 
Church (membership 178,544) agrees in doctrine 
with the main body, but has no bishops and gives 
laymen equal representation with the ministers in 
the conferences. The Methodist Episcopal Church 
South (membership 1,638,480) broke from the main 
body over the questions involved in the Civil War. 
Its positions now are practically those of the main 
body, but it has some differences in lay representa- 
tion in government. It maintains its churches even 
in the same community with churches of the main 
body. The Free Methodists (membership 32,838) 
came into being to protest against membership in 
secret societies, pew-rents, and the abuse of ex- 
ecutive power and ecclesiastical authority. This 
body is like other Methodists, except that it em- 
phasizes entire sanctification and insists on a most 
rigid application of church discipline and a most 
rigorous view of the hereafter. 13 The separating 
differences of the several divisions of Methodists 
have not been doctrinal as a rule, but have bad to 
do with church government and discipline. 

Closely connected with the Methodists in origin 

12 These are the Union American Methodist Episcopal Church 
(membership 4,347), the African Methodist Episcopal Church (mem- 
bership 494,777), the African Union Methodist Protestant Church 
(membership 5,592), and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion 
Church (membership 184,542). An additional division in the South, 
which came about by mutual agreement, produced the Colored 
Methodist Episcopal Church (membership 172,996). 

13 There are several small additional Methodist bodies, some white 
and some colored, some with the name Methodist, and some with 
Qther titles, as for example the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. 



The Divisions of Protestantism 175 

and significance are the United Brethren in Christ. 
The influence of the Methodist movement in the 
eighteenth century, of German pietism upon Ger- 
man-speaking congregations in this country, and 
of the Mennonites who contributed some minis- 
ters and people, resulted in the formation of this 
denomination. It is altogether probable that the 
body would have united with the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church more than a century ago if at that time 
that church had encouraged the use of German in 
the church services of this group. The doctrinal 
positions are almost identical with those of Metho- 
dists, and the form of church government is practi- 
cally the same. There are two bodies, of which the 
larger is now known as the United Brethren in 
Christ (membership 274,659), and the more con- 
servative seceding group (membership 21,401) as 
the Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Old 
Constitution). 

The Evangelical Association (membership 104,- 
898) was also the result of work done in the Meth- 
odist spirit followed by the refusal of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church to minister in German to the 
German people of Pennsylvania. This body is 
quite Methodist in belief and practice. Likewise 
is the United Evangelical Church (membership 
69,882) which also makes a point of emphasizing 
the fellowship of all Christians. 

From the Methodists in England sprang the Sal- 
vation Army (membership in this country 22,908), 



176 Positive Protestantism 

which has become such an evangelistic and philan- 
thropic force in so many places. The general theo- 
logical opinions underlying the work of the Army 
are in general very similar to those of the Meth- 
odists. Two smaller similar bodies are the Amer- 
ican Salvation Army (membership 436) and the 
Volunteers of America (membership 2,194). The 
Volunteers and the Salvation Army do not expect 
their converts to remain with them, but rather en- 
courage their joining some church, though the Vol- 
unteers, more than the Army, insist on this policy. 

Methodists 14 have had a great influence upon 
modern Protestantism. The Methodist and Bap- 
tist families have been the dominant representa- 
tives of that type of religious thought and life 
which in the time of the Reformation was seeking 
expression in manifold variations through the Ana- 
baptists. The Baptists have run truer to type, but 
both families have found their followers chiefly 
among the masses of the people. 

Outside of the representatives of the three great 
channels of the Reformation and subsequent Prot- 
estant growth there are some lesser currents. One 
of these is the tendency to rationalism. Ever since 
the New Testament days themselves attempts have 
been made to square the conceptions concerning 
Christ and his person to the philosophies prevail- 

14 The Methodist family, including those bodies springing from 
Methodists, but not bearing the name or being identical with them, 
numbers in all 6,244.209. This number and those of the Dunkards, 
Quakers, and the Baptist family (7.048 673) make a total of 13*693, - 
372 for the Anabaptist group, and with Congregationalists, 14,393.862. 



The Divisions of Protestantism 177 

ing at any given time. One result has been the 
Unitarian interpretation of Christ. Though in the 
fourth century the Council of Nice declared against 
the teachings of Arius, a Unitarian, and though 
the church seemed to settle down to this decision, 
nevertheless advocates of Unitarian doctrine arose 
from time to time. In the Reformation period 
rationalistic Humanism created some Unitarian 
groups which influenced a few of the Anabaptists. 
Other advocates have continued to set forth their 
Unitarian contentions since the Reformation. In 
our country advocates of a Unitarian conception 
of God and Christ separated about a century ago 
chiefly from the Congregational churches of New 
England. The resulting Unitarian denomination 
(membership 70,542) has no creed, and refuses no 
one church fellowship on doctrinal grounds. It ad- 
heres to the congregational form of church govern- 
ment. Unitarianism has undoubtedly affected the 
religious thinking of the last century. 15 

The Universalists (membership 64,158) em- 
phasize chiefly the doctrine that ultimately in the 
hereafter God will save all, after men have suffered 
retribution for sin. But they are chiefly Unitarian 
in doctrine also, though many among them hold 
Trinitarian views. 

Another tendency marking the Christian cen- 

15 The rationalizing tendency has found expression among the Ger- 
man people in the German Evangelical Protestant Ministers' Asso- 
ciation (membership 23,518) and the German Evangelical Ministers' 
Conference (membership 11,186). The former especially is Unita- 
rian. 



178 Positive Protestantism 

tunes is seen in the formation of small groups to 
restore the simplicity of New Testament Christian- 
ity. It found repeated expression before the Refor- 
mation, and has since issued in a number of bodies. 
In this country, where no ecclesiastical power can 
coerce, these sporadic attempts at setting up New 
Testament conditions have had full sway and have 
been too numerous to detail. The existence of these 
numerous small groups without strength or influence 
leads some to think that Protestantism tends to 
break up into many divisions. They are really only 
slight eddies thrown off from the great currents of 
Protestantism and are similar to the small groups 
which have always from time to time sprung up 
during the Christian centuries. 

The followers of Swedenborg, the Scandinavian 
mystic and mathematician, are organized in two 
bodies, the General Convention of the New Jeru- 
salem in the United States of America (member- 
ship 6,612) and the General Church of the New 
Jerusalem (membership 635). The small number 
is a fair measure of the influence Swedenborg has 
had in Protestantism after a century or more of 
the propagation of his teachings. 

In addition to any special denominational groups 
of churches there are, according to the census of 
1906, 1,065 independent church organizations, with 
an aggregate membership of 73,673. Some are 
Baptist, some Congregational, some Lutheran, some 
Methodist, some Presbyterian, some Reformed, and 



The Divisions of Protestantism 179 

some others have various denominational names, 
but none of these are affiliated with any denom- 
ination. They are unrelated among themselves, and 
have no significance for the full sweep of the Prot- 
estant movement. 

To summarize, it is clear that the large number 
of separate ecclesiastical names of various groups 
which are used in statistical tables are not really 
indicative of nearly so many significant divisions 
of Protestants. The different denominations fall 
into the three groups of the Reformation time. The 
Lutheran family is fairly unified in significance, and 
its smaller bodies are hardly to be regarded as 
rivals of the two main bodies which have the chief 
strength. The same may be said of the Presby- 
terians, who are the chief representatives of the 
Reformed movement and who have been closely 
associated with the Congregationalists, the second 
in importance among Reformed bodies. The Epis- 
copalians have been influenced by the Reformed 
movement and connected with it, but should prob- 
ably be regarded as distinct and outside this 
group. The third division, the Anabaptist, is the 
largest. The Moravian and Bohemian Brethren, 
the Mennonites and their satellites trace their his- 
tory far back and maintain old and partially na- 
tional traditions, but do not possess much sig- 
nificance as rivals of the larger denominations. The 
Baptists of various kinds, with the denominations 
which have been historically associated with them, 



180 Positive Protestantism 

such as the Disciples, Adventists, and Dunkers, form 
a very large and influential group who have played 
a large part in the molding of the religious life of 
this country. Among the members of this group 
there is a great deal of mutual respect and sym- 
pathy, and even some cooperation. The Quakers 
are quite distinct, carrying to a most radical issue 
some of the Anabaptist principles. The Methodists, 
with the strong denominations growing out of their 
influence, are essentially one family. Outside the 
three streams of the Reformation developments 
are the smaller groups showing the rationalizing 
tendency, the very small and numerous bodies at- 
tempting in a more or less uninformed and fanatical 
way a restoration of New Testament conditions, 
and the quite large number of independent churches. 
It is plain, therefore, that instead of one hundred 
and fifty different denominations in this country, 
each with its separate way to God, there are really 
less than ten important divisions with distinctive 
and numerical significance, and even these are 
closely related* in three or four streams determined 
by the course of development at the time of the 
Reformation. 

The charge of sectarianism and consequent in- 
stability made against Protestantism is often, if not 
always, based on the supposition that the cause of 
division is creedal and due to the absence of an 
absolute teaching authority. Intellectual or creedal 
differences have figured, but it is not chiefly these 



The Divisions of Protestantism 181 

which have made the greatest number of divisions 
among Protestants in this country or which keep 
denominations apart. Far more frequent and 
powerful have been the differences as to church 
government. This is not the trivial matter which 
some affect to believe it. The world is still en- 
gaged in the great struggle to escape political autoc- 
racy and to establish democratic forms of govern- 
ment. This same struggle proceeds in the sphere 
of religious institutions and is not unimportant. In 
the struggle many undoubtedly trivial matters have 
received too great emphasis, but time alone will tell 
as to what is important and what unimportant to 
establish democracy in church government. 

Also, national affiliations of various immigrant 
groups and their descendants rather than differences 
of theological creeds have operated to perpetuate 
separate religious bodies even within the same de- 
nominational family. The immigrants naturally 
foster the types of Christianity to which they have 
been accustomed and which are associated with 
natural feelings for the fatherland. Germans and 
Scandinavians especially have been tenacious of 
national language and traditions. The racial asso- 
ciations of Negroes and the prejudices against them 
explain still further various separate bodies. It 
is altogether likely that differences arising from 
European distinctions will tend to disappear as the 
people maintaining them become more completely 
absorbed into the American people. 



1 82 Positive Protestantism 

Other non-intellectual influences which explain 
especially the divisions of some of the smaller 
bodies, are the power of a strong personality pos- 
sessed with the importance of some idea or conten- 
tion, and the raising of some moral question like 
slavery or of some disciplinary question like wear- 
ing jewelry or belonging to a secret society. It will 
take time for the sentiments aroused by these in- 
fluences so to fall away that they will cease to be, 
in a small way, a part of the dividing forces of 
Protestants. 

Whether it is possible to overcome these causes 
of division and in what measure already Protestant 
bodies have been brought to cooperate will be shown 
in the next chapter. 

+ + * 
Quiz 

i. Is the existence of divisions among Protes- 
tants of fatal significance? 2. Is the number of 
divisions overwhelmingly great ? 3. Can Protestants 
be grouped into a few significant families? 4. What 
is the best basis of grouping? 5. What is the sig- 
nificance of the Lutheran family, and what are 
the chief divisions? 6. What is the chief reason 
for the divisions of Lutherans in this country? 
7. What denominations represent the Reformed 
churches, and what are their significance ? 8. How 
are Episcopalians to be classified? 9. In the Ana- 
baptist group, which are the direct descendants? 



The Divisions of Protestantism 183 

10. How are Disciples and Adventists to be classi- 
fied? 11. Of the related bodies, which are the 
most important? 12. Which two denominations in 
the entire Anabaptist group are the most numerous 
and influential? 13. What is the significance of 
the Anabaptist group and the main divisions? 14. 
What are some of the well-known smaller groups? 
15. How many significant divisions of Protestantism 
are there in this country? 16. What are the causes 
of division? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. The reason why your denomination is separate 
from others. 2. Its group classification. 3. Which 
of the three Protestant streams is the strongest 
numerically? 4. The basis of choice of membership 
in any denomination. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE UNITY OF PROTESTANTISM 

In such an upheaval as the Reformation unanimity 
was naturally lacking. Just as naturally differences 
continued and also developed. When some leader 
or some group found what they regarded as a new 
view of truth, forthwith, without looking the field 
over to find whether this particular view was al- 
ready advocated, a new group was formed. What 
could have been more natural than that immigrants 
to this country should join with their respective 
fellow countrymen in religious activities and that 
thus nationalistic associations should become so 
fixed and dear that they would stand in the way 
of merging organizations? Disparateness among 
Christians has existed throughout the centuries in 
some degree and in all branches of the church, 
Oriental, Roman, and Protestant. It is the dis- 
parateness which is inevitable in the development 
of life. Life has always been manifold and must 
be so in religion. As a tree unfolds into its branches 
and leaves, so has Christianity into various bodies 
of Christians. Protestantism is distinct from other 
branches of the church in that its essential spirit 
has not been to prevent entirely this disparateness, 
184 



The Unity of Protestantism 185 

but rather to encourage the fullest and most mani- 
fold development of life, holding only to those 
restrictions placed by Christ himself and by the 
Scripture. It has profited in that the world has 
secured through one stream of Protestantism, since 
the Reformation, its greatest spiritual treasure — 
religious liberty. The disparateness of Protestant- 
ism is, therefore, in line with its essential spirit and 
great contribution, and is not without value. Its 
very naturalness helps us to understand it, and its 
connection with freedom may help us to value it. 
This conclusion proves even more satisfactory as 
one comes to realize that this disparateness is not 
necessarily incompatible with a real unity, a unity 
that means effective cooperation. In spite of the 
apparent mutuality of antagonisms among Protes- 
tants, the consciousness of oneness when relations 
to Romanism are considered has almost always 
been strong. More than that, for a long time the 
consciousness of unity has been gaining headway. 
For a hundred years in this country there have been 
movements and agitations for union. These move- 
ments have not succeeded, but nevertheless the 
cause of unity has made progress. The old-time 
bitterness of denominational controversy is largely 
passed. A spirit of comity is possessed by some 
people in practically all of the denominations. Vari- 
ous lines of activity which are to be described in 
a moment are further evidence of this growing con- 
sciousness. A number of proposals for unifying 



l86 Positive Protestantism 

different sections of the same general groups of 
Christians have been made, and some have been 
adopted. The merging of the Baptists and Free 
Baptists, now quite an accomplished fact, is an ex- 
ample. Still more ambitious projects have been 
launched looking to the uniting of all Protestants. 
Consequently, it may be said that one of the chief 
characteristics of Protestantism to-day is this 
growing sense of oneness and the practical mani- 
festation of the same in actual cooperation. 

From the developments thus far several things 
seem clear. One is that no existing body of Chris- 
tians can absorb all the rest, and no new body can 
be formed with a platform of beliefs and ecclesias- 
tical practices acceptable to all Protestants. Re- 
ligious conceptions weighted with associations of a 
historic group, and specific ecclesiastical practices 
sanctified by long usage, are so deep-seated among 
various divisions of Christians that it is hopeless to 
try to get Protestants to do to-day what has never 
for any length of time or over any wide extent 
of the world been done by Christians during the 
entire history of Christianity. 1 The temperamen- 
tal differences of people alone are strong enough to- 
day as they have always been to make divisions in 
the church. x\bsolute uniformity is impossible, and, 
if achieved, would soon be broken up again. It is 

1 Undoubtedly the World Conference on Faith and Order, in which 
many denominations are now participating, will do good by revealing 
the fundamental conceptions which great groups conscientiously hold 
to be worthful. But this Conference will hardly find a platform upon 
which all will be willing to stand. 



The Unity of Protestantism 187 

quite useless, therefore, to expect an organic union 
of all Christians which involves entire elimination 
of differences. 

Quite another conclusion has been reached by 
actual experience in attempting union of religious 
bodies. It is certain that unless various organ- 
izations which possess in the aggregate huge trust 
funds are ready to jeopardize their possessions by 
merging different religious corporations, organic 
union is out of the question. For example, when 
the Baptists a few years ago were in the process 
of organizing the Northern Baptist Convention, and 
the question arose of merging some of the different 
denominational Societies, it was found impossible 
to arrange such mergers because of the jeopardizing 
of funds. If this is the situation in regard to the 
uniting of organizations within the same denomina- 
tion, how much more difficult will be the attempt to 
overcome the legal obstacles to the organic union of 
two distinct denominations. It is wholly improbable 
that the various religious bodies of this country will 
ever run the risk of alienating the vast endowments 
for educational, philanthropic, missionary, and other 
purposes in order to have one single ecclesiastical 
organization which will absorb all others. 

Perhaps the various bodies would be willing to 
give up these endowments if a sufficiently great ad- 
vantage was to be gained by the formation of a 
single organization of Christians. But quite aside 
from the difficulties of such mergers, there is some 



i88 Positive Protestantism 

positive benefit in denominationalism. For one 
thing, the internal disparateness of Protestantism is 
both a symbol and a bulwark of religious liberty. 
Without liberty the various denominations could 
never have lived. Without denominations, it is at 
least conceivable that liberty might disappear, for it 
was achieved in part by denominational struggle. 
Moreover, the varied emphasis of the several Prot- 
estant divisions keeps alive an adequate appreciation 
of the many-sidedness of Christian truth and pre- 
vents any of the important aspects of Christian 
teaching from falling into obscurity. It was pre- 
cisely in that period of the history of Christianity 
when one great section of the church had made the 
nearest approach to the uniformity which many seem 
to desire, that the most precious conceptions of the 
New Testament were entirely obscured and over- 
laid with ideas quite out of harmony with scrip- 
tural Christianity. It took the revolution of the 
Reformation and all of the subsequent development 
to win back those spiritual treasures. Can we be 
so sure that these various aspects which need to be 
emphasized as long as the world lasts are so firmly 
held that they have no need of the propagating 
agencies which rescued them from oblivion and 
reestablished them in Christendom ? We may rather 
conclude that the development of Protestantism and 
of the movement toward unity makes clear that 
denominationalism has its value for maintaining re- 
ligious liberty and the fulness of Christian teaching. 



The Unity of Protestantism 189 

We might add that the friendly rivalry among vari- 
ous groups is also capable of yielding real worth. 

To what then may we hope the growing con- 
sciousness of unity will lead ? It has already led to 
the conviction that it is possible for the widest di- 
vergence of theological opinions and even of eccle- 
siastical practices to obtain along with a thorough 
sense of the essential oneness of Protestantism. 
For any further development of unity this convic- 
tion is absolutely essential and primary. Various 
Protestant organizations have found that coopera- 
tion in practical activities is possible on the basis 
of the validity of this conviction. In this discovery 
Protestantism has entered a new road, the road 
that leads to efficient unity of action with the 
greatest freedom of belief and ecclesiastical prac- 
tice. Cooperation in common tasks with utter free- 
dom in personal and denominational convictions is 
the key which unlocks the door to effectual Prot- 
estant unity. 

Actual realizations of working unity have pro- 
ceeded either consciously or unconsciously upon the 
basis of this conviction. These are, broadly speak- 
ing, of two kinds. The one consists of activities 
either among local churches, among denominational 
organizations, or among individual members of vari- 
ous denominations which have grown up to meet 
definite practical problems, but which have not been 
concerned, primarily at least, with promoting unity 
as such. The other kind consists of the activities 



190 Positive Protestantism 

of organizations whose purpose is to promote unity 
and to amalgamate the activities of separate groups. 
Thus distinguished, these two kinds of cooperation 
have been mutually helpful to each other. A brief 
description of them in the various distinct and 
mutual aspects will go far to show that Protestant- 
ism has already achieved a considerable degree of 
practical unity, and is fast making progress to a 
complete cooperation in practical affairs. 

Education is a sphere in which denominations 
have long cooperated. The International Sunday 
School Association has been a potent force in 
building up the Sunday School as the educational 
arm of the church. In prosecuting its primary work 
it has incidentally given impetus to the growth of 
unity. The American Sunday School Union has 
also labored in this sphere. With a somewhat 
different purpose the Sunday School Council of the 
Evangelical Denominations works in the educational 
field. Related in a general way to these organiza- 
tions are the interdenominational movements of 
adult classes and brotherhoods. The interdenom- 
inational activities of the Christian Endeavor So- 
ciety are too familiar to need description. Older 
and just as well known are the Y. M. C. A. and 
Y. W. C. A. A newer organization, the Religious 
Education Association, 2 is trying to do for religious 

2 This organization is composed of individuals as such rather than 
of representatives of churches, and is not, strictly speaking, solely 
Protestant, though consisting chiefly of Protestant educational lead- 
ers. 



The Unity of Protestantism 191 

education what the National Education Society is 
doing for secular education. The mere mention 
of these different bodies indicates somewhat the 
wide extent of the cooperation of Protestantism in 
the field of religious education. 

Another sphere in which cooperation has been 
in a large measure achieved is that of missionary 
endeavors. 

In the field of home missions, that is, missions in 
our own country, there are two unifying organ- 
izations. The Home Missions Council represents 
the general organizations of the various constituent 
denominations, while the Council of Women for 
Home Missions is the interdenominational organ- 
ization of the women's societies of the several 
groups. A description of one will be sufficient. The 
annual report of the Home Missions Council for 
191 5 gives the constituency as thirty-four denom- 
inational societies, representing thirteen different 
denominations. The Council meets at least once 
annually, and considers the problems which are 
common to home mission work in all bodies. One 
practical achievement illustrates the nature of the 
work and is of special interest here. A study of 
a certain Western State revealed that only 11.2 per 
cent of the money spent there by various mission 
boards went to communities where there was any 
denominational overlapping. Thus it was shown 
that the main problem upon such mission fields was 
" overlooking " the many communities where there 



192 Positive Protestantism 

are no religious services rather than " overlapping" 
by several churches in a community. Plans of 
comity are developing whereby the fields of work 
will be so divided that future overlapping will be 
reduced to a minimum, at least until all territory is 
well occupied. Through cooperation with city mis- 
sion societies the Home Missions Council and its 
constituent bodies have helped these local organ- 
izations to cooperate interdenominationally in their 
respective communities. In more than one place, 
plans such as that which has been employed in 
Cleveland, Ohio, have been worked out whereby 
new churches are started only after interdenomina- 
tional consideration and agreement. What has been 
accomplished promises still further adjustment in 
the future. Here then is a kind of unity that 
effects practical ends without eliminating denomina- 
tions. 

The cooperation in the field of so-called foreign 
missions is even more marked. Most outstanding 
and most comprehensive in its constituency of the 
various organizations thus unifying missionary work 
is the international and interdenominational move- 
ment which had its culmination, after half a cen- 
tury of periodical conferences, in the Ecumenical 
Missionary Conference which met in Edinburgh, 
Scotland, in 1910. 3 The endeavors of the Con- 
ference are being carried out in a measure by the 

3 A brief account of this movement may be found in " Christian 
Unity at Work." pp. 82f., published by the Federal Council of the 
Churches of Christ in America. 



The Unity of Protestantism 193 

Continuation Committee, which aims to make per- 
manent contributions to the collective activities of 
foreign mission boards. One of the practical re- 
sults of this Conference has been the organization 
of national boards of missionary education in this 
country and England, which are planning for the 
better training of missionaries. Another result 
has been the holding at Panama in 1916 the confer- 
ence to consider religious and moral conditions in 
South America. 

The efforts of this world organization are sup- 
plemented by those of interdenominational agen- 
cies in our own land. The Foreign Missions Con- 
ference of North America is a combination of 
representatives of foreign mission boards similar 
to the Home Missions Council and with a similar 
purpose for its own field. According to the annual 
report for 1914 there were included forty-eight 
societies or boards belonging to twenty different 
denominations, and, in addition to these, seven- 
teen other societies with various affiliations, making 
in all sixty-five cooperating organizations. Still 
further related to this Conference, but extending 
also into the field of home missions, are three other 
movements. The Laymen's Missionary Movement 
started as a plea for foreign missions, but lias now 
broadened so as to cover the whole field of mis- 
sionary interest, and has the cooperation of prac- 
tically all denominations interested in missionary 
work. The Missionary Education Movement is 



194 Positive Protestantism 

endeavoring to give the people of the various de- 
nominations adequate information about mission- 
ary activities and to enlarge missionary interest. 
The Student Volunteer Movement has for quite a 
long time been securing pledges from the young 
men and women in colleges to devote their lives to 
specific missionary service. 4 

The cooperation in the work of foreign missions 
extends beyond the societies and boards of the 
homeland to the mission fields themselves. The 
tendency of churches composed of natives on the 
foreign fields to unite is already manifest. Indeed, 
in South India the churches have organized the 
South India United Church, whose object is " to 
bind the churches together in one body with a view 
to developing a self-supporting, self-governing, and 
self-propagating Indian Church, which shall pre- 
sent a united living testimony to Christ, and worthily 
represent to the world the Christian ideal. ,, The 
same tendency is to be marked in China. In Indi&, 
China, Korea, Japan, and the Philippine Islands the 
churches have been brought together in interdenom- 
inational organizations while still maintaining their 
denominational affiliations. The spirit of unity is 
also manifest in the organizations and conferences 
of the missionaries themselves ; in union educational 
efforts, such as " theological schools, medical schools, 
colleges, normal schools, schools for missionaries' 

* It is of interest to note here also that societies similar to that of 
the Foreign Missions Conference of North America have also been 
organized in Great Britain and Ireland and in Germany. 



The Unity of Protestantism 195 

children, and, in fact, educational institutions, above 
the primary and intermediate grade, of every char- 
acter "; and in interdenominational publication of 
hymn-books, Sunday School literature, and other re- 
ligious periodicals. 

These varied and extensive cooperative endeavors, 
excepting actual organic union, are supported in a 
large measure by the sympathetic attitude of the 
churches and missionary societies in the homeland. 
The report for 1912 of the Commission on Foreign 
Missions of the Federal Council of the Churches of 
Christ in America says : " There has never been a 
time since the German Reformation when the vari- 
ous denominations were so closely engaged in co- 
operative measures for promoting the kingdom of 
Jesus Christ among the nations. There has never 
been a period since the beginning of modern mis- 
sions when denominational differences were so mini- 
mized and the great fundamental truths of our 
blessed religion were so universally emphasized, 
and we advance together for the conquest of the 
world for Christ. " This is a fair conclusion from 
the facts, and is even more justified now than when 
it was made. 

To these cooperative activities in missionary con- 
cerns we may add those of evangelism. For many 
years now it has been possible to secure hearty co- 
operation from various denominations for evangel- 
istic campaigns. These have had different forms. 
Most frequently they have been of the strictly 



196 Positive Protestantism 

revivalistk type, such as those of William Sunday, 
which are just now attracting such great attention. 
At other times there have been campaigns of simul- 
taneous meetings under a general plan. A willing 
cooperation has characterized most of them. This 
cooperation has been sometimes that of an entire 
community and sometimes that of a section of 
some great city. In all such efforts Protestants have 
exemplified the willingness to unite in a definite 
piece of practical Christian work without any ques- 
tion of denominational aloofness or of the lack 
of denominational loyalty. 

A still more striking indication of the ability of 
the adherents of different denominations to work 
together is cooperation in the same local church. 
Some real progress has been made in meeting the 
difficulties confronting small communities unable 
to support several churches of various denomina- 
tions. At least four solutions have been tried with 
varying success. In some places it has been possible 
to persuade the people to give up their denomina- 
tional connections and to join a church of the de- 
nomination of the strongest following. A different 
arrangement is that of the interdenominational 
church, wherein members retain their denomina- 
tional affiliations, but unite in the single organiza- 
tion of their community. In such cases membership 
in the old home churches is maintained. Different 
from both of these is the u union church." It? 
members give up all denominational connection. 






The Unity of Protestantism ig7 

and the church itself is unattached. In the multi- 
denominational or federated church two or more 
churches unite in using the same building as one 
congregation with one minister and act as a unit 
in all local affairs as a single church. Yet each of 
the constituent churches keeps its own organization 
within the composite church, and these separate 
and distinct organizations maintain their own de- 
nominational affiliations and activities. By this ar- 
rangement the advantages of cooperation are gained 
without losing denominational sympathy and help. 
This form of cooperation has been carried out in a 
number of places, perhaps most successfully in 
Massachusetts. 

Of quite a different character is the cooperation 
in the field of philanthropy and social service. In 
some such organizations churches are constituent 
parts, but in most, Protestant individuals act as such, 
though in their action they often have the feeling 
that they are representing the churches. Practically 
all such organizations make appeals to the churches 
for support. Cooperation here has existed not only 
in local philanthropies, but also in some having 
wider spheres of activity. 

The close cooperation of Protestant people and 
churches has been more marked in some of the 
movements of public reform, local, State, and na- 
tional. Among numerous concerns in this field the 
abolition of the liquor traffic has commanded per- 
haps the greatest attention and unanimity of action. 



198 Positive Protestantism 

The Anti-Saloon League has included representa- 
tives of various temperance organizations, but has 
worked a very great deal with and through the 
churches. There are other similar organizations. 
One of these is the International Bureau of Reform. 

The cooperation thus far described has in every 
instance come into being primarily to take care of 
practical situations, and the emphasis on the prin- 
ciple of unity has been secondary if present at all. 
In the city, village, county, and State federations of 
churches we come to the second kind of Protestant 
cooperation. These federations seek to promote 
unity as well as to prosecute some of the joint tasks 
of the constituent churches. The federations of 
Wisconsin and Massachusetts are typical of State 
federations. The Federation of Massachusetts 
claimed, in 1914, to represent eighty-three per cent 
of the 448,682 Protestant church-members of Massa- 
chusetts. Good examples of city federations are 
those of New York, Baltimore, and St. Louis. 
Gradually the movement is spreading, and it is not 
too much to predict that in no distant time Prot- 
estants in most, if not all, communities will be or- 
ganized to do the work which requires the ac- 
tivities of their combined resources. 

But the greatest organization w T orking directly 
for church unity as such is the Federal Council 
of the Churches of Christ in America. On January 
1, 191 5, the constituent bodies sending representa- 
tives to this Council were thirty, with a combined 



The Unity of Protestantism 199 

membership of 17,436,650 communicants, which is 
considerably more than the claimed number of 
Romanist communicants in this country. The Coun- 
cil is doing its work through commissions and com- 
mittees whose activities cover quite completely the 
vast field of church interests. 5 Each of these com- 
missions is seeking to coordinate the corresponding 
activities of denominational and interdenominational 
organizations and also to adjust itself to the same. 
Some of the commissions are going beyond adjust- 
ment and are making new proposals of cooperative 
work. 

One of the newer fields into which the Council is 
pushing is that of social service. Already existing 
denominational agencies in this field are cooperat- 
ing through the commission of the Council. In 
public morals too, the Council has exercised effec- 
tive influence, as for example in connection with 
the moral conditions attending the San Francisco 
Exposition. In such public concerns as was repre- 
sented in the Kenyon-Sheppard Interstate Liquor 
Shipment Bill the Council exerts its influence, and 
maintains at Washington an office through which it 

6 These are the Commission on Evangelism, Commission on the 
Church and Social Service, Commission on Peace and Arbitration, 
Commission on Christian Education, Commission on Foreign Mis- 
sions, Commission on Home Missions, Commission on Temperance, 
Commission on Family Life, Commission on Sunday Observance, 
Commission on the Church and Country Life, Commission on Feder- 
ated Movements, Commission on State and Local Federations. In 
addition are several special committees dealing with matters of im- 
portance. These were, according to the report of 1915, Joint Com- 
mission on Theological Seminaries, Committee of One Hundred on 
the Panama-Pacific Exposition, American Church Committee on Peace 
Centenary, Committee on Relations with Japan, and Committee on 
Special Interest of the Colored Denominations. 



200 Positive Protestantism 

may quickly act. The Federal Council, along with 
the Home Missions Council, was instrumental in 
securing, after a ten years' campaign, the passage 
of a law which increased to an adequate number the 
chaplains of the national navy. Furthermore, " ar- 
rangements have been made with the Associated 
Press and the United Press by which " the Council 
" is securing larger publicity regarding the united 
work of the churches, and also for the general re- 
ligious matters which are of general interest." 
These varied activities are but a suggestion of what 
the Council may do in unifying the Christian work 
of our land. 6 

The Council goes still further. It does not con- 
fine itself to the internal afifairs. It has taken ef- 
fective action in the field of international relations. 
In the controversy over the atrocities perpetrated 
in the Congo it used its influence. At the time 
of the presentation by President Taft of the arbi- 
tration treaty to Great Britain, the Council spoke 
wisely the opinion of the leaders of Protestantism 
in this country. Wide publicity was given to the 
statement. Two representatives of the Council were 
sent to Japan to study the Japanese situation and to 
give the Japanese people a correct impression of the 
attitude of Protestant America toward their nation. 
The results of this embassy have been gratifying. In 

6 An additional contribution of the Council has been the creation 
and collection of literature bearing on Christian unity. See Annual 
Reports of the Executive Committee for 191 3 (pp. 44f.) and for 
1914 (pp. 64-67), and also C. S. MacFarland, " The Churches of the 
Federal Council," pp. 264-266. 



The Unity of Protestantism 201 

the movement for permanent international peace the 
Council is working with other peace agencies. Some 
correspondence with leaders in other countries has 
been had with reference to international cooperation 
in religious affairs. The American section of the 
Evangelical Alliance 7 has asked the Council to take 
charge in the future of the arrangements for the 
Week of Prayer. A definite proposal is now under 
consideration for the calling of a World Congress 
of the Churches which will aim to do for the entire 
church work what the Ecumenical Conference of 
Edinburgh did for missions. It is thus to be seen 
that whereas the accomplishments in unity made 
by the Federal Council are already considerable, the 
possibilities for further development are still 
greater. 8 

The editor of one of the most influential and 
widely circulated journals of our country once said: 
" The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in 
America has supplanted no denomination, it has 
drawn no new creed, it has substituted for the pres- 
ent church organizations no new organization, nor 
has it caused one organization to absorb another. 
It has simply done for the Protestant churches of 
America what the Confederation did for the Amer- 

7 The Evangelical Alliance, a voluntary organization, is composed 
of individuals from various denominations, and has sections in dif- 
ferent countries. It is another manifestation of cooperation of Prot- 
estants. 

8 On May 8 and 9, 1917, the Council, assembled in special session 
at Washington, sent out to the churches a message concerning the 
duty of the church in the hour of grave national need. 



202 Positive Protestantism 

ican colonies — it has bound them together, it has 
enabled them to work in union. . . The American 
States, when they were first federated, were as 
truly a nation as they are to-day. The Federal 
Council demonstrates the fact, not only that union 
is practicable, but also that it has been achieved. ,, 

In view of even this abbreviated presentation of 
the present cooperation among Protestants, it is 
amazing to hear uninformed people talk of the lack 
of solidarity and efficiency of Protestantism as com- 
pared with Romanism. In view of the statements 
of Romanist officials that they would now have 
thirty million more people than they now claim 
if they had kept all of their folks who have come 
to this country, it is futile to talk about the effective- 
ness of Romanist solidarity and organization. For 
certain ecclesiastical expressions of absolute author- 
ity Rome undoubtedly exceeds the solidarity of 
Protestantism. But in accomplishing the tasks of 
the kingdom, Romanism is a loose-jointed institution 
as compared with such a denominational organiza- 
tion as the Methodist Episcopal Church or the de- 
nominational missionary boards and societies, or 
some of the cooperative agencies discussed in this 
chapter. Perhaps the weakness of Romanism here 
is its failure to enlist the services of the laymen, a 
failure inherently connected with the belittling of 
laymen as compared with priests and with the ab- 
sence of any controlling or even influential voice of 
the whole people in the affairs of the church. 



The Unity of Protestantism 203 

The efficiency of Protestant cooperation hardly 
needs an apology. Protestantism does not possess 
and does not desire, but really opposes, the kind of 
solidarity which Rome possesses. In order to co- 
operate it does not need a uniformity of creed and 
ecclesiastical practice, which are at any rate unat- 
tainable for any branch of the church. The statis- 
tics of the really important denominations which, 
without great increases by immigration, have grown 
faster than the population, and the reports of mis- 
sionary and publication organizations reveal the real 
efficiency of the several denominational organiza- 
tions. The presentation in this chapter suggests the 
efficiency already attained in cooperation. The or- 
ganized cooperation of Protestants in this country 
is not perfect nor complete, but it is effective and 
is constantly increasing in effectiveness. 

4< 4< »£ 

Quiz 

1. Are the divisions of Protestants inevitable, 
and why ? 2. Has there been any tendency to unity ? 
3. What are the conclusions to be drawn from the 
development of the consciousness of unity? 4. 
What is the possible platform for cooperation? 5. 
What are some of the spheres in which cooperation 
has taken place? 6. What are some of the organ- 
izations which have carried on these cooperations? 
7. What are church federations, and what is the 
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ? 8. 



204 



Positive Protestantism 






What are the constituency, aim, and results of the 
Federal Council? 9. How does Romanism and 
Protestantism compare in efficiency? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

1. The necessary steps in order to secure just 
one organization of all Protestant Christian bodies. 

2. Protestant cooperation in your own community. 

3. The relation of cooperation in your own com- 
munity to social service and its organizations. 4. 
Is there any possibility of getting Romanists to co- 
operate with Protestants? 5. If not, why not? 6. 
If it is possible, in what sphere can it be brought 
about ? 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PROSPECTS OF PROTESTANTISM 

The final question with reference to Protestantism 
as a positive religious force concerns its prospects 
for future permanency. Are the achievements of 
Protestantism to date a permanent contribution to 
Christianity? Is Protestantism to be absorbed or 
displaced? Cardinal Gibbons, in "The Faith of 
Our Fathers," makes a comparison of the prospects 
of Protestantism with what he regards as the out- 
come of the Arian movement. He refers to the 
fact that Arianism once had a large following, and 
included among its advocates and protectors some 
of the world's great men. In spite of this, the 
movement disappeared after enjoying a period of 
prosperity, and the one and only church came again 
into its own. Likewise, he thinks, Protestantism 
will disappear, and the Roman Church will be the 
only Christian church. However, this prophecy 
overlooks the facts that Arianism never was as 
deeply rooted in great world tendencies as Protes- 
tantism is, and that it has never really disappeared, 
for its doctrines have not been without their ad- 
vocates from time to time during the centuries, and 
are still maintained by some sects. A prophecy 

205 



2o6 Positive Protestantism 

entirely opposite to that of Cardinal Gibbons is war- 
ranted by the strength of Protestantism and its 
long successful history. Undoubtedly the church 
of Christ will go on as long as the world shall last, 
but the Romanist stamp will not be upon it. Prot- 
estantism has made a contribution which will not 
be lost, however much the Christian church may in 
the future be modified. 

Two sources of increase in numbers in this coun- 
try seem to convince some Romanists of a final 
triumph of Romanism. One of these is immigra- 
tion. But in spite of the undoubted increases from 
this source, there is little ground for comfort for 
militant Romanists in considering immigration to 
this country. The immense losses admitted by Ro- 
manist officials must be very disquieting to them. 1 
Nor can this immigration continue forever, since 
economic forces will tend sooner or later to a 
greater or less diminution of it, and the working of 
these forces may be greatly quickened by the re- 
sults of the world war. Besides, the constant stream 
of Romanists coming to this country means numer- 
ical weakening to Romanism in Europe, and in the 
process absolute losses are sustained here. When 
these considerations are compared with such a fact 
as that Baptists, without the help of immigration, 
increased in this country during the last century 

1 Protestants of the right temper can # only regret that multitudes 
of immigrants are drifting, or have drifted already, entirely away 
from every type of Christian church. It is in part this regret which 
convinces Protestants that they are obligated to engage in religious 
ministry to these multitudes, 




The Prospects of Protestantism 207 

three times as fast as the population, the statistical 
situation favors Protestantism rather than Rome. 

Nor does the supposedly relative larger size of 
Romanist families give any real assurance of numer- 
ical preponderance. In the absence of any conclu- 
sive evidence that would settle whether Romanist 
or Protestant families in this country are the larger, 
it may be noted that the birth-rate of Romanist 
France is notoriously low, and that as Romanists in 
this country become prosperous and educated their 
families tend to diminish in size, as is the case 
with people of other religious affiliations. The 
situation is certain to be further affected by the 
birth-control agitations. There are no known cir- 
cumstances that point in the direction of the dis- 
appearance of Protestantism or even of the probable 
relative lessening of their numerical strength. 

The external stability of Protestantism is shown 
clearly in its possession of vast material resources. 
Thomas Nixon Carver's book, " The Religion Worth 
While," argues that the very inculcation of Prot- 
estant ideas of frugality, industry, and individual- 
ism has led to the superior prosperity of Protes- 
tants. At least a measure of truth seems to inhere 
in this position. If it be held that this superiority 
has been the result of racial characteristics, it is 
then plain that Protestantism has been especially 
adequate as the religion of people who prosper. 
Possibly race and religion have been mutually in- 
fluential. The fact of superiority remains. The 



208 Positive Protestantism 

statistics as to church property emphasize this as to 
Protestant possessions. According to the Census 
of 1906 the value of church property owned by 
Protestants was $46.14 per capita, while that of 
Romanists was only $22.22 per capita. Not only do 
Protestants own more church property per person, 
but they pay better for what they do own. The in- 
debtedness on Protestant church property was only 
$2.13 per capita as against $4.09 per capita on Ro- 
manist property, and was only 5.7 per cent of the 
entire value of the church property as against the 
Romanist 16.9 per cent of the entire value. More- 
over, the great bulk of the industries of this coun- 
try are owned and controlled by Protestants. So 
far, then, as material resources mean strength for 
ecclesiastical work, the Protestants have the greater 
strength, and there is little indication of their 
diminution. 

Protestants are in possession too, of the most 
influential institutions which make for the mold- 
ing of future thought and life in this country, espe- 
cially educational institutions. The greater number 
and most influential of these are either Protestant 
or non-Romanist. In the West and middle West 
education tends to come predominantly into the 
hands of the States, and so to be officially without 
religious affiliations. Again, Roman Catholic stu- 
dents do not always avail themselves of their own 
institutions' privileges, but elect to attend non-Ro- 
manist schools and universities. The effect of this 



The Prospects of Protestantism 209 

situation will be inevitable in view of the fact that 
the greater contribution to the scientific and intel- 
lectual world of the last three centuries has been 
made by Protestant minds, and has been in closer 
harmony with Protestant than with Romanist prin- 
ciples. Not only does the control of the higher edu- 
cation by Protestants promise permanency for Prot- 
estant ideas among the leaders of this country, but 
it seems to indicate that not a few Romanist young 
men and women will in some measure imbibe these 
ideas with results" that may be easily imagined and 
which may already be marked by a little acquaint- 
ance with such people. 

At the basis of these possessions has been the power 
of Protestants to achieve. No one should desire to 
deny the part which Romanists have undoubtedly 
had in the development of this country. But Prot- 
estants have shown indubitably a superior accom- 
plishing power. At one time in the past 2 it looked 
as if this continent was to be held and developed 
for Rome. Two great Romanist empires were pro- 
jected with the most ambitious ends. In the south 
and southwest the Spanish Empire was endeavor- 
ing to build up a vast civilization in the name of 
Rome and to the advantage of Romanists. In the 
north and northwest another Romanist power, 
France, was endeavoring with the most brilliant 
imagination and forecast to implant a new French 
empire, which was also to be Romanist. No greater 

2 See L. W. Bacon, " History of American Christianity." 



2io Positive Protestantism 

political powers than these two European empires 
existed in the world at that time. All seemed pro- 
pitious for the vast undertakings. But these dreams 
of empire went glimmering before the power of 
England and her colonists, and before some other 
Protestant folk in this land. Certainly no such op- 
portunity as then existed for the settlement and de- 
velopment and control of this vast continent is now 
possessed by adherents of Rome. So far as one 
can see no such opportunity will ever return. The 
failure of Romanism in the past argues no surer 
success in the future. The innate power of Prot- 
estantism to maintain itself and to move on in 
achieving progress shows no alarming signs of 
abatement. Rather, it gives assurance of the per- 
manency of Protestantism. 

This conclusion is strengthened by a quite addi- 
tional and even more significant set of considera- 
tions. These pertain to the mutual agreement be- 
tween Protestant and modern conceptions and 
forces. One of these conceptions is that of free- 
dom. It is the very essence of Rome's genius, which 
runs always to an absolute external authority that 
must be unquestioningly accepted in all matters, to 
be opposed to freedom. In contrast, it is of the 
very essence of Protestantism to demand freedom 
and to promote it. In this it agrees without doubt 
with the characteristic drift of modern life and 
institutions. Freedom is the breath of life for the 
modern world. By this freedom the advance in 



The Prospects of Protestantism 2tl 

modern times has been made possible. Unless the 
world is to turn backward the hands of progress, 
freedom will continue. In that case the form of 
Christianity, whose very essence is of freedom, will 
prosper and abide. 

Closely connected with freedom, democracy has 
made steady advance in the modern world. For the 
time being the European war may seem to give 
pause to the rule of the people. Yet some elements 
of the situation point strongly to an increase in 
democracy after the war. It will be difficult at 
any rate to convince the people of this country that 
democracy is only a passing phase of human de- 
velopment. Here at least democracy is certainly 
dominant and will remain so. Nor can it be con- 
fined to political institutions and life. It will find 
expression in the sphere of religion and church 
government in the future as in the past. In the 
Roman Church the people have no voice or vote, 
and the priests and officials are in no way an- 
swerable to the people and removable by them. 
Pius X only recently declared that a pernicious doc- 
trine which would make the laity a factor in the 
progress of the church. 3 Consequently, if democ- 
racy is really one of the permanent trends of 
human development which is to afifect not only 
political, but also religious institutions, Protestant- 
ism, with its democracy of spirit and church govern- 
ment, has better prospects of permanency. 

8 See Newman Smyth, "Passing Protestantism," p. 51. 



212 Positive Protestantism 

A similar conclusion is to be drawn from the 
mutual relationship existing between Protestantism 
and the development of modern science. Scientific 
methods of thought dominate the modern intellec- 
tual world. It is as likely that the sun will cease 
to shine as that the contribution of science to the 
ways of men's thinking will be utterly given up 
by the world. This development of science has 
been in part a development of itself, and yet Prot- 
estantism has had some share in it. Science could 
never have possessed the freedom to work unre- 
strictedly without the accomplishment of religious 
freedom by Protestantism, since at one time all 
learning was in the control of the church. Suf- 
ficient was said above of the relation of Rome to 
free research and thought to show how essentially 
antagonistic Romanism and free study and formu- 
lation of truth are. The spirit of Romanism and 
the spirit of modern science are utterly incompatible. 
The surreptitious manner of the dropping from the 
Index of the strictures upon the Copernican theory 
is an indication of the true spirit of Rome in dealing 
with science which does not please her, but which 
she can no longer profitably oppose. But as in the 
case of modern freedom and democracy so in that 
of modern science, Protestantism is close to the 
heart of the development of humanity, and conse- 
quently possesses real ground for permanency. 

Turning from the harmony of Protestantism with 
the modern Western world to its contact with the 



The Prospects of Protestantism 213 

heathen peoples, strong reason for assurance still 
abides. Protestantism has the larger prospect for 
influencing the whole world. Her missionary enter- 
prises are the stronger. Measured by the funds 
specifically given for these enterprises, by the rate 
of increase of communicants in recent decades, by 
the general influence in various countries which, 
unlike Rome's, is non-political and thus recognized 
as disinterested, by the educational service rendered, 
and by their medical and other social ministry, 
Protestant missions are in the lead. Protestantism 
has abundantly demonstrated its power to propa- 
gate itself among non-Christian peoples. 

The Western world is greatly influencing with its 
civilization the whole earth. The Orient may make 
its contribution to the West, but the East has al- 
ready, as for example Japan, been absorbing the 
Western way of thinking and life, and the whole 
world will undoubtedly be profoundly affected by 
Occidental civilization. In the certain develop- 
ment it is inevitable that the free, democratic, scien- 
tific modernism of the Western world will be an 
outstanding feature of future Oriental civilization. 
These elements are altogether likely to be accepted 
universally earlier than any type of Christianity. 
After these features have been more or less widely 
accepted, the type of Christianity which will appeal 
and satisfy is the type which is in closest harmony 
with the institutions and methods of thought of 
free, democratic, scientific modernism. In such a 






214 Positive Protestantism 

situation Protestantism without any question is in 
a better position than Romanism. It may be con- 
cluded that Protestantism has excellent prospects 
of being ultimately the type of Christianity most 
acceptable to the heathen world and of establish- 
ing itself permanently in non-Christian lands. 

In contrast to Protestantism as it faces with 
assurance the modern world, is Romanism with its 
many defections. It is not necessary to point out 
again the great losses among immigrants who come 
to this country. There are also many native-born 
people now members of Protestant churches who 
were once Romanists. In each of the several 
churches which the present writer has served as 
pastor some former Romanists were members. He 
has himself baptized some converted Romanists. 
Probably few Protestant churches lack some con- 
verts from Romanism, and consequently the entire 
number of such converts is large. There are also 
native-born Romanists who have dropped out of 
Romanism, but have joined no other church. These 
defections in this country are more than paralleled 
in Europe, whence comes the chief increase to the 
Roman Church in America. For some time an 
exodus from the Roman Church has been pro- 
ceeding, and many of the seceders have become 
Protestants. 4 The same general drift is shown in 

* For some examples, see larger edition, Appendix, Note 26. For 
a full statement of the European situation, at least as it was be- 
fore the war, see Loeppert, " Modernism and the Vatican," and Bain, 
" The New Reformation." 



The Prospects of Protestantism 215 

this country in those Protestant churches which are 
made up of non-English-speaking people who came 
to this country as Romanists, as, for example, the 
Italian Baptist churches. These defections cer- 
tainly do not show a decline of Protestantism, but 
rather a decline of Romanism. 

This is not the whole of the situation nor the 
more hopeful part of it. Not only has Rome suf- 
fered from defections, but there are some internal 
movements of reform. Sooner or later modern 
science and thought were bound to influence the 
multitudes of honest, serious priests. The inevitably 
resulting movement within the church has been 
designated by Pope Pius himself as " Modernism. " 
As rapidly as the books of the Modernists are pro- 
hibited others are written and published. The simi- 
larities between the views of Modernists and Prot- 
estants are marked. Newman Smyth describes the 
Modernists in a summarized way thus : 5 " When we 
put together from their various writings their objects 
which from their several points of view they desire 
to see accomplished, the list of their aims reaches 
considerable proportions. The transformation and. 
purification of the government and administration 
of the Church; reduction of the number of Italian 
cardinals, and an increase of foreign cardinals in 
the government at Rome ; decentralizing the pontifi- 
cal power, changing the papacy from a too monar- 
chical into a more constitutional rule ; abandonment 

See "Passing Protestantism,'* pp. io6f.; also Loeppert. 
P 



216 Positive Protestantism 

of its bad systems of coercion; restoration of the 
autonomy of the Episcopate; publicity of trials, re- 
sponsibility for decisions; reforms in the studies in 
the seminaries, and education of the clergy to meet 
modern demands; participation of the laity in the 
government of the Church ; changes in the Congre- 
gation of the Index and other councils of the Vati- 
can ; decrease in the external devotions, and a spir- 
itual renovation of the ceremonials; removal of 
corruptions; a priesthood better trained in modern 
ideas and fitted for social service; and to some ex- 
tent the modifying of enforced celibacy; these, and 
other measures of renovation and progress in re- 
sponse to the needs of modern life, besides their 
demands for liberty to pursue critical, historical, 
and scientific studies within the Church, and the 
right to remake theological interpretations of the 
facts and faiths of Christianity, constitute a suf- 
ficiently extensive prospect of innovation to justify 
the apparent panic of the Encyclical. " 

This encyclical is the letter of Pope Pius X at- 
tacking " Modernism." It attempted to stop honest 
thinking and was supplemented by a requirement 
for every priest and teacher to take the oath against 
" Modernism/' The result of this attempt has been 
far from successful from a Romanist point of view. 
Many priests in France took the oath under duress, 
and then wrote their bishops anonymously that they 
had no intention of keeping it. 6 In Germany teach- 

6 See Loeppert. 



The Prospects of Protestantism 217 

ers in Romanist institutions could not be compelled 
to take the oath against their own desire, because 
the German government controlled their pay, and 
would not countenance any coercion. Men outside 
of Romanism hope that the Modernists will stay 
within the church in order gradually to effect a 
change. 

Modernism has not yet had much effect in this 
country, perhaps because the priests here have been 
too much occupied with the practical affairs of the 
church to pay a great deal of attention to intellectual 
questions. But if Modernism is not yet strong, 
" Americanism " is. This is a term applied to the 
spirit and utterances and aims of certain American 
prelates whose position has shown the inevitable 
influence of modern American ideas. These ideas 
are markedly the possession of many of the laity. 
The opposition of many laymen in this country to 
the parochial school and their preference for the 
public school, the insistence of many people upon 
obtaining a voice in the government of the church, 
the friendly recognition by Romanists of Protestants 
and their churches as Christian in spite of the of- 
ficial teaching of Romanism, and the appreciation 
and espousal of American ideals and principles by 
great numbers of Romanists are some of the indica- 
tions of how far Romanist priests and laymen in this 
country have grown from medieval Romanism. 7 

7 For the effect of liberal studies upon a priest of open mind, sec 
larger edition, Appendix, Note 27. 



218 Positive Protestantism 

In view of these facts, it is plain that Rome's 
hope for permanency lies in strengthening the ten- 
dencies of modern thinking. If the number of 
Modernists becomes sufficiently great, a result far 
from impossible, Rome may find it necessary to 
change as she has done in the past. From one point 
of view the doctrine of the infallibility of the pope 
may seem a barrier, but it may turn out to be the 
very agency which will facilitate the necessary 
changes to save Romanism from extinction or rele- 
gation to the realm of the ignorant. It is incon- 
ceivable that Romanism will abide just as it is. 
The adjustment to modern life is bound to be 
forced in some way and bound to come in some 
measure. Human life develops, and in the long 
run the development cannot be stopped. Institu- 
tions which get in the way of the progress perish. 
Rome will not be willing to perish. She will be 
more willing to change in spite of her claim to un- 
changeability. In view of the nature of the modern 
world and of the relation thereto of Protestantism, 
we must conclude that the change will come in the 
direction which modern progressive Protestantism 
has taken. 8 

Some people are discussing the possibility of a 
drawing together of Protestantism and Romanism 
and the point of contact in such a rapprochement. 

8 It is a striking fact that Pius X's attack on Modernism acknowl- 
edges and emphasizes the fact that Modernist scholars, who p-ofess 
to be loyal Roman Catholics, are in close agreement with the schol- 
ars of the Protestant world. 



The Prospects of Protestantism 219 

The only platform upon which there can ever be 
harmony between these two branches of the church 
is the platform upon which Protestants among them- 
selves are now cooperating, the platform of free- 
dom of theological opinion and ecclesiastical prac- 
tices with cooperation in practical endeavors. In 
the realm of social service cooperation has already 
been secured in some instances and in some mea- 
sure. A larger cooperation is possible except where 
Romanism by its official commands prevents. So 
long as Rome regards herself as the only Christian 
church and refuses to look upon or treat other 
Christian bodies and people as Christian, there 
can, of course, be no cooperation. Not all of the 
bitterness and bigotry are on one side, but it is 
a simple fact that Romanist priests and Roman- 
ist people are prevented by ecclesiastical authority 
from cooperation with Protestants, and especially if 
,by any stretch of the imagination the cooperation 
kan be connected with religious or ecclesiastical 
'recognition. If the Roman hierarchy would show 
tany fraternal attitude toward Protestantism, it 
would find a warm response on the part of a 
great many Protestant ministers and people. A 
beginning could be made in matters of social ser- 
vice, and it is safe to say that if cooperation can 
be had here, the mere cooperation with its attendant 
mingling and fellowship will be bound to develop 
closer relationship and mutual regard. Protestant- 
ism does not fear the loss of its influence or 



220 Positive Protestantism 

permanency by following such a suggestion. Can 
Romanism come to the same point of vie 

Protestants can afford to cherish fraternity even 
though Romanism does not now reciprocate. To be 
sure, if official Romanism becomes aggres 
some tilings in this country seem to indicate is the 
present tendency. Protestantism will be aroused to 

rrespondingly aggressive propaganda. If of- 
ficial Romanism or individual Romanists set out to 
secure control of this country in the name of Ro- 
manism or seem to attack any of the social or polit- 
ical institutions connected with freedom, especially 
religious freedom, even though the attack is only a 
short step toward encroachment, Protestantism will 
be aroused to protect itself and its institutions and 

f:ure for every one the blessing of religious 
liberty. Xor will it be deterred by the cry of those 
who first raise an agitation by their own ?-^r:r: 
ncss, and then when that has begotten a like aggies- 

less on the part of Protestants, declare that 
are being persecute 1 f of their religion. Prot- 
estants may hope just as Romanists may hope, that 
the better leadership and the better spirit in both 
wings of the church will dominate and avoid any 
undue aggressiveness on either side. Meanwhile 
Protestants have good ground for resting assured 
in their convictions and for going about their : 
with vigor and consecration. The permanency of 
Protestantism is not really menaced even were it 
verbally threatened imetimes reported. 



The Prospects of Protestantism 221 

Protestants need have no fear as they face the 
future. They may be assured of the worth and 
scripturalness of those principles for which Protes- 
tantism stands. They may be certain that their 
principles are in accord with the developments of 
the modern world and with what the world seems 
about to become. Their past achievements have 
been great. They already possess great numbers, 
resources, and strength; they have learned in a 
large measure how to cooperate among themselves ; 
and they seem to be growing stronger persistently 
both in this and non-Christian lands. In view of 
the signs of decaying medieval Romanism, they do 
not need to be concerned for the permanence of 
Protestantism. They may hope for such a modern- 
ization of Romanism as will make possible at least 
some kind of Christian cooperation such as now 
characterizes the relations of the several Protestant 
bodies. 

* 4* * 

Quiz 

1. What is the prediction of Romanists as to 
the permanence of Protestantism? 2. What is the 
significance of the discussion of the outcome of im- 
migration and the size of families? 3. Which 
branch of the church in this country possesses the 
greatest material resources? 4. Which controls the 
institutions for molding public opinion? 5. What is 
the evidence of the power of Protestantism to 
achieve? 6. What is the significance for per- 



222 Positive Protestantism 

manence of the respective relations of Protestant- 
ism and Romanism to the modern forces of free- 
dom, democracy, and science? 7. What has been 
the respective influence of Protestantism and Ro- 
manism upon the heathen world? 8. What is the 
situation among European Romanists, both as to 
defections and as to internal revolt by the Modern- 
ists? 9. What are the facts in these respects as 
to our country? 10. Can Romanism be changed? 
11. What is the relative assurance which Roman- 
ists and Protestants may feel as to permanence? 

Suggestions for Further Study 

I. The reasons why Romanists think Protestant- 
ism will disappear. 2. The rates of increase re- 
spectively of Protestants and Romanists. 3. The 
probable effect of the world war upon immigration 
from Romanist countries. 4. The effect upon such 
immigration of the recently enacted literacy test. 
5. The justifiableness of the work by Protestants 
among Romanists in this land. 6. Means by which 
fraternity between Protestants and Romanists may 
be secured. 7. Evidences that Rome can change. 
8. Importance to the welfare of the country of 
mutual toleration and even of fraternity of Protes- 
tants and Romanists. 9. The incongruities of Ro- 
manism and American institutions and ideals. 






BOOK-LIST FOR REFERENCE 
AND STUDY 

GENERAL 

In addition to general encyclopedias and general church 
histories these works should be consulted for further study. 

The Catholic Encyclopedia. 

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowl- 
edge. 
Bacon, L. W. : "History of American Christianity." 
Cavanagh, Wm. Henry : " The Word Protestant in Litera- 
ture, History, and Legislation." 
Gale, Frank H. : " The Story of Protestantism." 
• Hatch, Edwin : " The Organization of the Early Christian 

Church." 
Lindsay, Thomas M. : "History of the Reformation." 

2 vols. 
. Lindsay, Thomas M. : " Martin Luther." 
Newman, A. H. : "History of Anti-Pedobaptism." 
Vedder, Henry C. : "A Short History of the Baptists." 
Vedder, Henry C. : "The Reformation in Germany." 

PART I 

Bousset, Wm. : " The Faith of a Modern Protestant." 
Coppens, Charles, S. J. : "A Systematic Study of the 

Catholic Religion." Second Edition. 
Dorner, Isaac A. : " History of the Protestant Theology." 

2 vols. 
Foster, Frank Hugh: "The Fundamental Ideas of the 

Roman Catholic Church." 
Gibbons, James (Cardinal) : "The Faith of Our Fathers." 

22 } 






224 Book-list for Reference and Study 

Grounds of the Catholic Doctrine, Confession of Faith, 

published by Pope Pius IV. 
Von Hase, Carl A.: "Handbook to the Controversy with 

Rome." 
Hill, M. P. : " The Catholics Ready Answer." 
McGiffert, A. C. : " Protestant Thought Before Kant." 
McKim, R. H. : " Romanism in the Light of History." 
Miller, Robert J. : " The Fundamentals of Protestantism." 
Moehler, John Adam : " Symbolism of Doctrinal Differ- 
ences Between Catholics and Protestants." Translated 
by James Burton Robertson. 
Pfleiderer, Otto : " The Development of Theology in Ger- 
many since Kant." 

PART II 

Annual Reports of the Federal Council of the Churches of 

Christ in America, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915. 
Annual Report of the Foreign Missions Conference of 

North America, 1914. 
Annual Report of the Home Missions Council, 1915. 
Ashworth, R. A. : " The Union of Christian Forces." 
Carroll, H. K. : " The Religious Forces of the U. S." 
Bain, John A. : " The New Reformation." 
Harnack, Adolph : " Thoughts on the Present Position of 

Protestantism." 
Loeppert, Wm. : " Modernism and the Vatican." 
MacFarland, Charles S. : " Christian Unity at Work." 
MacFarland, C. S. : " The Churches of the Federal Council." 
Smyth, Newman : " Passing Protestantism and Coming 

Catholicism." 
Troeltsch, Ernest: "Protestantism and Progress." 
U. S. Census, Special Report : " Religious Bodies," 1906, 

Parts I and II. 
Usher, Edward P. : " Protestantism, A Study in the Direc- 
tion of Religious Truth and Christian Unity." 



:>*«■ ' 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: March 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-21 1 1 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 






017 445 739 6 



